Water and Blood
by TatteredCrimson
Summary: [Warning: Might turn dark] By a horrible twist of fate, Sesshoumaru is thrown into the future with no sure return. With little choice, Rin beseeches the return of her Lord to the Inugumi. But in the future, the Lord is — caught by humans? Experiments?
1. Deceptive Light

Woo! A new fic! Heh ^-^ I wrote this a looong time ago, guys. (As in over month ago…). So, I hope you enjoy, this idea has been playing around in my head for quite a good amount of time. So we'll see what happens to the plot of this fic ~_~. Enjoy the chapter and see ya at the bottom ^-~ (By the way, I don't know if it's possible to go through the well this way, but let's just say that this can happen ^-~) **To reviewers who read my other story**: No, I've not given up on my main fanfictions, but I just needed to get this first chapter out of my hair XD   
  
This also contains some spoilers. So if you haven't seen up to at least episode 80, then be forwarned. Just this chapter…I hope…   
  
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**Water and Blood   
  
  
Deceptive Light**

  
  
  
  
    Sesshou-maru once again snuffed as the reprehensible smell filled his sensitive nostrils. He walked on, looking at his surroundings with only a quick glance. He mentally cursed. The scent of that filthy hanyou brother of his was too strong here. Then again, they'd just passed a village full of humans.   
  
     Thankfully, Jaken and Ah'Un were ahead of them, making a clear trail for the Lord to follow through the forest. He was in no mood at all to be bothered by his servant.   
  
     Sesshou-maru looked down at the two shards in his hand. He had no use for them at all, nor did he _want_ them imbedded in his body. That stupid wench had given them to him though he clearly told her that he had no need or want of it. How many blasted times did he have to keep repeating that he had no care for Naraku, nor had he any grudge against him?   
  
And still, she pushed him with her pestering. And he had two choices as a result. Kill her in front of Rin, or just taked the stupid shards. Of course, he chose the latter because…   
  
     He just wanted to. That's why. (A/N: In the show, he doesn't take the shards, just so you know, but he doesn't kill Kagura either.)   
  
     "Sesshou-maru-sama…" Rin started as she looked up at him, catching up to his long strides.   
  
     He slowed his paces and listened, her voice awakening him from his revelry of thoughts.   
  
     "Sesshou-maru-sama…Rin is thirsty…and tired…" she said shyly as she rubbed her small stomache with one hand and her eye with the other. She looked up at him. "Is there somewhere that Rin can get water, please?" she asked.   
  
     He remained quiet as he stopped walking, not looking at her, but turning around. There was one of two choices. He could smell a stream of water ahead, but it was too far for Rin's tired body to make it to the trip. Of course, he wasn't concerned for the human, he just didn't want to carry her (A/N: Riiight D_D). The next choice…he could easily go back to the village they'd passed and wait for her outside of it while she got some water there. But Inuyasha's scent wasn't why he didn't want her at that village.   
  
     He didn't want her around other humans.   
  
     Who knew what they could do to a young child like her?   
  
     Not that he cared anyway (A/N: D_D). To reassure his lack of caring, he chose to get the fresh scented water from the stream ahead. "Keep walking…" he said indifferently as he turned back and walked on.   
  
     Pushing her young body. But what did he care, anyway?   
  
     "Hai, Sesshou-maru-sama!" Rin said with a smile on her face despite her thirst and fatigue. She'd never deny him. '…Waaaii…' she wailed in thought, 'Rin is thirsty and sleepy…' She rubbed her stomache again.   
  
     Today of all days was a blistering hot day.   
  
     They kept walking on. It finally came to the point where she stumbled slightly, but ran ahead to catch up with her Lord.   
  
     Finally, they got to a clearing with a well in the middle.   
  
     Sesshou-maru's nose twitched as a familiar scent came to his nose.   
  
     Inuyasha's and that humans. So this is where they congregated a lot? He saw the well. "Rin…" It wasn't the water source that he'd smelled at first, but it was a well, nonetheless.   
  
     "Hoh…hai, Sesshou-maru-sama!" Rin said as she looked up at him quickly in surprise. He usually didn't talk to her directly unless she had at first asked something of him.   
  
     "Go get yourself water at the well," he said indifferently. He walked away, not thinking of the attributes of the well in anyway. He sat and leaned against a tree as Rin smiled at him and ran over to the well, closing his eyes for his relaxation, something he certainly wasn't having for these past months.   
  
     But he didn't mind. He stared at the two shards in his hand for a while. He still couldn't figure out, for the _life_ of him, why he had this human child following him around. He couldn't figure out, either, why he couldn't let her leave him. The petty weakling had a hold on him, and he hated to admit that. He wanted to rid himself of her presence…but he couldn't find himself doing that.   
  
     He hated it when she'd come to his side on colder nights and use his pelt, _his weapon_, as a _quilt_. He hated it when the human would constantly pester him with questions that he hardly answered anyway. He hated it when she would run around in those flower fields and pick some to give to him. He had no use of flowers, nor did he like the scent much. But he most hated how she would call him her lord and yet she chose to, at times, walk right beside him; as if she were on the same level and status as he.   
  
     And despite all that he hated about her, he couldn't find himself ridding her pointless life.   
  
     He just didn't…know _why_.   
  
     Rin stopped at the well, her eyebrows going in a little. "Ooh…" she muttered. "Nani?" she cocked her head to the side as she put her hands on the top of the well and looked down. "The well is empty…" she whispered to herself. "Where's all the water?" she asked loudly, looking further down. She tried to see any glistening or something that meant water…but she saw continuous darkness. She cocked her head to the side again.   
  
     She was about to lift herself from the leaning position. But she lifted herself to quickly, making the blood rush to her head and make her feel lightheaded. Her balance and footing was lost. And she fell straight into the well. "Waaaai!! Sesshou-maru-sama!" she screamed softly as she went downward.   
  
     Sesshou-maru whipped his head to her direction instantly as her voice filled his ears and he practically tasted her fear. She wasn't anywhere seen. She fell inside of that well, didn't she? Where was the splashing?   
  
     He heard a thud and a few other sounds, like a gasp of pain and what not.   
  
     He picked himself from the ground as he clenched his hand tightly and walked over to the well, looking down. "Rin," he said loud enough for her to hear him.   
  
     "Sesshou-maru-sama…" Rin drawled out softly.   
  
     He let out a frustrated sigh as he went down after her. 'Stupid child…' he thought. The rest of his thoughts were drowned by Rin's mewling. The well was big, which proved a surprise to him.   
  
     His feet delicately touched the bottom of the well as he looked down at her with his impassive, stoic eyes. Rin was crumpled before him, holding onto her ankle as tears brimmed in her eyes. "It hurts, Sesshou-maru-sama…" she whined.   
  
     Sesshou-maru picked her up by the scruff or her small yukata, maneuvering the two shards so he also held them (A/N: And he ends up holding her anyway D_D), staring at her for a few seconds.   
  
     Rin dried her eyes and let out another sniffle. Her eyes widened and she cocked her head to the side after a few seconds. "Se—Sesshou-maru-sama?" she started. "What are these purple lights around you?" she asked.   
  
     He cocked his eyebrow at the girl. What was she, dillusional? There was nothing purple around him.   
  
     "Haaa," Rin smiled in glee, throwing her pain to the side. "Sesshou-maru-sama! There is purple light around you!" she said happily.   
  
     Sesshou-maru's senses suddenly flared from some danger. Strangely…he could now see the purple light that Rin was talking about. And the purple danced around him for a few seconds before he had a strange feeling that…there was no longer any earth beneath him. He took a sudden look down, then whipped his head back up as Rin called his name with fear etched in her young voice.   
  
     When had he let go of her?   
  
     The two shards in his hand started to glow, making him look at them before he looked at Rin again as she called his name.   
  
     Why was she…lucid?   
  
     She screamed at him again. But his body was engulfed by the purple lights.   
  
     His hand opened before he was no longer seen.   
  
  
     "Sesshou-maru-sama!!" Rin screamed, her eyes wide and her skin pale. What was this? What was this?! It was dark again. But the two shards continued to glow, emitting a very small light for her to see. Two shards?!   
  
     Where was Sesshou-maru-sama?!   
  
     'Aah!!' Rin thought. "The shards took him away?!" She looked at the two shards, then looked around her for a few seconds before she looked down at the black earth. She did the only thing that came to her mind.   
  
     She clawed at the dirt.   
  


**~*~**

  
     Jaken turned around. Where was his Lord and that human?! He had to lug around an uncooperative animal with him for goodness sake!   
  
     "Where is that Sesshou-maru-sama!?" he said angrily. He turned around after a few minutes and faced the direction he'd come from.   
  
     He started taking a few steps back toward his trails. Finally he decided to retrace his steps to find his Lord. He tugged on the reigns of Ah'Un.   
  
  
     He finally got back to the clearing with the well that he'd passed hours ago. "Areh…" he muttered as Ah'Un instantly turned it's heads toward the well, it's noses in the air. "What is it, you worthless animal?" he asked angrily, tugging at the reigns again.   
  
     The youkai turned to him and snuffed before looking back at the well and taking a step toward it. "A—Areh!" Jaken screamed this time, tugging at the reigns as the youkai dragged him toward it.   
  
     Strange…that he could hear crying from some direction. The toad youkai furled his eyebrows inward, trying to tug at the reigns. The crying was getting louder and it sounded…oddly similar to the human child. When the two-headed youkai reached the well it looked in, giving a grunt of displeasure.   
  
     "What do you think you're doing, you stupid, _stupid_ animal?!" Jaken asked angrily to the youkai as if it would respond. "You know well that if Sesshou-maru-sama finds us dawdling around here, he won't be happy!" He thought about his words for a few seconds. "Well…he won't be any more unhappy…" He paused at the words, trying to figure out if that made sense. "No wait…I said that wrong…" (A/N: @_o)   
  
  
     Rin looked up as the well darkened somewhat. She was hoping that it already wasn't night. She let out a yelp of surprise when she saw Ah'Un looking down at her from the well. "Ah'Un!" she yelled softly, wiping her tears away and giving a sniffle.   
  
     "Areh?" Jaken asked as he looked at the youkai, which gave a low whine. He blinked inanely, then perked his ear to listen. He could have sworn he heard the girl, but she was no where in sight… "Did someone just speak?" he asked himself.   
  
     "Hoh…" Rin paused as she heard Jaken's voice. "Ja—Jaken-sama!!" she yelled. Her eyes welled with tears again. She was so afraid.   
  
     But who wouldn't be? There sole person she'd confided in had just disappeared before her very eyes.   
  
     "Rin?!" Jaken yelled as he looked down the well and saw her down there. 'Kami-sama! Sesshou-maru-sama will kill me if he sees her down there…' he thought nervously.   
  
     "Jaken-sama," she drawled, "Get Rin out!!"   
  
     "A—Areh!" Jaken paused, then grabbed onto Ah'Un's reigns before loosening one and sending it down the well.   
  
     Rin gave a short smile before grabbing onto the rope and holding tightly, allowing herself to be pulled up by the strength of Ah'Un. It took a bit longer that she'd have wanted it to, but she was finally out and instantly grabbed onto Ah'Un.   
  
     "Stupid child, getting yourself stuck down a well…" Jaken muttered. Rin instantly glared at him before her eyes welled with tears again.   
  
     "Where is Sesshou-maru-sama?" He asked angrily.   
  
     "Jaken-sama!" Rin yelled softly, then pointing down to the well. "When Rin fell down the well, Sesshou-maru-sama came to get Rin, but then Sesshou-maru-sama disappeared!!" she yelled frantically.   
  
     Jaken gave her a glare before hitting her with his staff. "Don't lie, child. Where is Sesshou-maru-sama!?"   
  
     "Rin told Jaken-sama!" Rin whined.   
  
     "I see…" Jaken muttered to himself. "Sesshou-maru-sama must have gone to travel alone and expected me to take care of you." He gave an angered sigh.   
  
     He _still_ didn't believe her. Rin's eyes welled with tears again before she let out one of her high-pitched wails. "Jaken-samaaa! Sesshou-maru-sama had purple and blue light around him and then he started to look like water and there was no ground and there were white dots and then Sesshou-maru-sank to the bottom of the well and the two shards that Kagura-sama gave to him are still down there!!"   
  
     Jaken paused. Despite the girl being stupid and what not, she couldn't possibly make this up. The description was too elaborate and patent for a stupid child to think up.   
  
     It took a few minutes, then, for his shock to register. "Na—nani?!" he asked loudly. "Sesshou-maru-sama has gone missing!?"   
  
     "Jaken-sama…" Rin started with the cock of her head, "This is what Rin has been trying to tell you…"   
  
     "Shut up, child!" he yelled. He put his hand on his chin and pondered deeply. "What is it that we do…?" he asked himself.   
  
     Rin also put her hand on her chin, getting 'deep into thought' just as Jaken was. An idea finally came to mind. "Jaken-sama," she said softly as she tugged on his sleeve.   
  
     "Shut up, Rin, I'm trying to think!" Jaken said angrily.   
  
     "But, Jaken-samaaa!" she whined, pulling on his sleeves again.   
  
     "What?!" he finally asked as he glared at her.   
  
     "Isn't Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother's wench supposed to be able to see the shards?" she asked innocently, cocking her head to the side.   
  
     Jaken stared at her wide eyed. 'Who called that wench a wench infront of Rin?!' he thought, because he most certainly knew it wasn't his Lord. (A/N: Hmm, I wonder whoooo…) It took a while of him to answer the question. Yes…he'd remembered that time when he and his Lord had attacked Inuyasha and his associates after Naraku (Jaken started mumbling as he thought of the tyrant) had given Sesshou-maru a shard. The wench had yelled to Inuyasha that Sesshou-maru had one in his arm.   
  
     So she could see the shards. What did that have to do with anything?   
  
     "So what, Rin?" Jaken asked angrily. More like he was angry that he wasn't getting the gist of what a 6 year old was telling him.   
  
     "Doesn't she have powers?" Rin asked, cocking her head to the other side.   
  
     "It has come to be known that she is the reincarnation of that miko wench, Kikyou…" (A/N: And the truth is told! *points at Jaken*) He paused for thought. "And what difference does that make that she has powers?" he asked moodily. "Few humans, as petty as they are, have powers."   
  
     "But isn't she from another time, Jaken-sama?" Rin asked. (A/N: Uh…she just knew…because she heard of it through Sesshou-maru…who heard of it through Inuyasha…when the hanyou was yelling at him at some time…ago. Heh *weak smile*)   
  
     "What?! Another time?! That's prepo—Gah!" Jaken paused in midsentence and yelled suddenly. "This is where that reincarnated miko wench goes into different eras!!" He looked up at Rin and glared before giving her another smack with his staff. "Baka! Sesshou-maru-sama is in another time! Why did this happen to him and not to you!?!"   
  
     Rin's eyes were tearing again. "Jaken-sama…Rin didn't know! Rin misses Sesshou-maru-sama!" she said as her tears ran down her petite face from her widened eyes. Jaken didn't say anything. He was trying to figure out what to do. "Jaken-sama, can we find Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother's miko wench to bring Sesshou-maru-sama back?" she asked desperately.   
  
     Jaken let out a string of foul words and a few mumbles as he crossed his arms. He _definitely_ didn't want to resort to siding with a human. Especially when the human was closely linked to Sesshou-maru's hated halfling brother.   
  
     But…that reincarnated miko wench was the only way to her side of her world, and Inuyasha, but the halfling wasn't what mattered. His eye twitched at the pain he would suffer when Sesshou-maru-sama would find out. That is, if the humans were willing to help—no, not help—aid him. Aid sounded better. (A/N: It does sound better…but it has the same meaning…). And what if Inubaka tries to kill him?!   
  
     Jaken let out a chortled sigh. "I'll have to steal that wench from the group when they are vulnerable and when she is alone…" Jaken muttered.   
  
     "But Jaken-sama," Rin started, "Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother's miko wench is nice!" Rin smiled. "If Rin asks her, she'll help us."   
  
     "No! We won't ask! Because she will have no choice but to aid us! If you ask the wench, it gives her a chance to say no. And no matter what, that little b—" Ah'Un grunted at him. "—wench will have to do what we tell her!"   
  
     Rin let out a sigh. "Jaken-sama, Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother's miko wench won't let you do that to her, she has powers. Rin will ask her. Rin wants Sesshou-maru-sama back!"   
  
     "Fine, stupid child! You do as you wish, but they'll never agree!" Jaken sounded like a little child.   
  
     Rin let out a sigh of glee and a smile to boot, the quickly grabbed onto Jaken's hand before climbing on Ah'Un's back.   
  
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Oooh~~ Sesshou-maru is trapped in Kagome's time, eh? No, this won't be a Kagome/Sesshou-maru. There won't be a pairing in this at all, actually ^-^ Aside from that, my two other fics are no where near done, so you can't epect the next chapter for a looooong time. And school starts in a few days. And I have to take practice SATs. And I have japanese courses. AND I'm making a comic. So there's no chance that this'll be updated for another month. ^-^; Sorry, minna. Anyway, please leave a review and tell me if I should continue in the first place or not @_@_@_@   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Above

>_> Did I say I'd update this in a long time? Welp…I have very little homework this weekend, so I'm fitting this into my schedule >:]. It so far seems that few like this story, so I'm happy. Review responses are at the bottom ^-^   
  
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**Water and Blood   
  
  
_Above_**

  
  
  
  
    "Inuyasha, I have to get home soon, you do know that, right?" Kagome asked as she looked at the hanyou with a glare. "I've been gone for three days! I need to get back to school to make up my tests!"   
  
     "The shards are more important, Kagome!" Inuyasha retorted, his arms crossed. "Besides, what are these '_tests_' of your that makes getting the shards less important??"   
  
     Kagome sighed and put her hand on her forehead, Sango giving her a look of sympathy. The fact that she snickered wasn't much help to the miko reincarnation. She turned to Inuyasha, her eyes dull with anger. "Okay, Inuyasha." She gave in. "I'll stay for just a couple more days. Just two!" She turned around.   
  
     "You better, wench!" Inuyasha snorted angrily.   
  
     Kagome turned back to him and opened her mouth testily. "Osu—"   
  
     "Gah!" Inuyasha tried taking a step away from her.   
  
     "Hmph…" Kagome turned her back to him. "Come on guys, we have more shards to find."   
  
     "Wench…" Inuyasha muttered under his breath.   
  
     "You should have said it, Kagome!" Shippou yelled as he jumped on Kagome's shoulders. "Inuyasha just called you a wench again!"   
  
     Kagome turned back to Inuyasha again. "Don't test me, Inuyasha!" she yelled angrily, her voice quite intimidating. She turned forward again, then stomped off with Sango following closely behind.   
  
     "…Inuyasha…." Miroku muttered as he looked at Kagome storming off.   
  
     "What?!" Inuyasha asked angrily.   
  
     "I suggest you not get on Kagome-sama's bad side anymore today…"   
  
     "Damare, bozou…" Inuyasha muttered angrily, his ear twitching from the violent storm that boomed from Kagome's voice.   
  


**~*~**

  
     Jaken was angrily grumbling to himself about Rin's stupid suggestion, trying his best to stay on the youkai flying through the air. This was definitely not his day.   
  
     Rin was presently singing some stupid song that had all to do with her Lord. She was tightly hanging on to the reign of Ah'Un, and smiling to herself with the song flowing from her lips. Despite the tune she was singing, she was nervous about him being in another time, away from her. What could happen to him? No one would give him flowers! No one would cuddle with him if he got cold! He couldn't hit Jaken! At the last thought, Rin gave a full-fledged smile.   
  
     "Jaken-sama…" Rin started after a while.   
  
     "What is it, child?" Jaken mumbled, still thinking about how badly Sesshou-maru would abuse him, just for the fun of it, when—if—no, when—he got back.   
  
     "Do you think Sesshou-maru-sama is okay?" she asked.   
  
     "Of course he is, stupid child!" he said, bopping her on her head, and thus making her nearly lose her grip on the reign, and thus make Ah'Un growl in anger. He gave a glare to the demon.   
  
     "Good…" she said as she gave another smile as she steadied herself. She took one hand off the reign to pat Ah'Un on it's mane(s). "Find Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother's miko wench!"   
  
     The youkai gave a grunt of obedience.   
  
     "Whatever…" Jaken muttered.   
  


**~*~**

  
     Sesshou-maru was still staring upward, his eyebrows furrowed. To put words correctly, he was confused. Just an ounce. He could have sworn that it was just day, and he could have sworn that Rin was just here with him. Come to think of it...he looked down at his hand again, not believing that the two shards were gone.   
  
     He cursed under his breath. Well, too bad for the human child any way. Though there was a lack of any one or thing present, his grace allowed him to discreetly stand up from his sprawled condition. He looked up again, then lifted himself to get out of the well.   
  
     Surely he was shocked the second his eyes looked at his settings. First of all, it was still day, as he could see through the opened shoji door. But as he so remembered, there was no housing above the well before. Not only that, but things looked…old, as if they were there for at least fifty years or so.   
  
     Suprisingly shocking to himself, he didn't know what was going on. He stepped out of the well and looked at everything once more. A sudden sent came to him, making his eyebrows furrow. The scent of that human girl that was always around Inuyasha. This place reeked of it. Not only that, but there were also many scents in the air that smelled awful and sickening. He covered his nose with his sleeve for a few seconds before putting it down again.   
  
     What was going on? That animal…something fat and fairly close to a feline, just ran past the shoji door without stopping at his presence. He cocked his eyebrow as he took a step forward. A few more steps forward and he was finally at the shoji door. He blinked emptilly as he looked at the surroundings. There was a very big…cage…of some sort.   
  
     And where did all the vegetation go?   
  
     He fought back a small sneeze. When was the last time he'd sneezed anyway? He cursed again. This was too bizarre. Her scent was still evident around here, more than it was in the shrine (which is what he supposed was the place he'd just stepped out of was).   
  
     He took a few steps toward the "cage", then turned his head quickly as he heard a squalling sound from far off. He furrowed his eyebrow again. He was curious.   
  
     Curious…   
  
     He walked toward a black, paved rode, stepping farther away from the shrine and the well. There were many of these giant "cages", actually. And—he cursed again—the scent of humans was far too strong around here. He couldn't smell a single demon.   
  
     It didn't take long for him to realize, though. It was as if…he was in a different time.   
  
     This was where that human female was from, wasn't it? This time, this place…this was the "future", or something like that.   
  
     He cocked his eyebrow again as he heard the squalling sound, then covered his nose from an intoxicating smell. This air…it wasn't fresh at all. It smelled like smoke and other substances he'd never smelled before. He took a step onto the black ground and looked forward for a few seconds. It didn't seem to end! Nor did the cages!   
  
     Was this even Japan? Was this even the Western Lands anymore? He willed to go back to the well, for he didn't know this time. He didn't know this time, nor did he like it. He cocked his eyebrow and turned around as he heard a shrill sound from behind him. What was this youkai approaching him with a human inside of it?   
  
     This was not amusing…at all.   
  
     "Oi! Get off the road, ya' freak!" yelled the human, sticking his head out the youkai and shaking his fist at the same time. What a different dialect of Japanese…   
  
     He cocked his eyebrow again. 'This human dares to use this tone with this Sesshou-maru?' he thought angrily.   
  
     "I said move! What are ya, suicidal or something?! Move out of the way, woman!" the human yelled after he got over his shock.   
  
     Sesshou-maru, instead, took a step towards the human and the demon. It had a very strange—reprehensible—scent lingering on it. It smelled like burned oil and a mixture of something else that he couldn't quite place. "Human…" Sesshou-maru opened his mouth to speak. The human's head reeled back, almost as if he was in shock. "Don't toil my time…"   
  
     The man furrowed his eyebrows. He then beeped his horn, content when the strange (and probably queer) person standing in the middle of the road outwardly twitched.   
  
     Sesshou-maru's ears ached after the sound dribbled through his ears and rang in his head for a few seconds. He twitched his ears, then held up his hand. He muttered something, his eyebrows furrowed in discontet, then sprayed the acid toward the human and the youkai.   
  
     "Wha?!" the human's eyes widened in shock. "What is this?!" he asked. He gasped as some of that black stuffed touched his skin and burned through! He let out a scream of horror.   
  
     Sesshou-maru took a few steps closer, then stood still until the youkai and human were fully enveloped in the acid. "Hm…foul human…" He turned in the other direction and started walking forward. He had…no clue…where he was going. But the scent of humans was becoming heavier.   
  


**~*~**

  
     Rin scouted the area carefully. Ah'Un had let out a grunt just a few minutes earlier, and she was supposing that he was starting to pick up on the scent of the people she was looking for. "Can you smell them, Ah'Un? Are they close?"   
  
     "It's no use talking to the youkai, stupid child," Jaken pointed out. "You can't understand what it's saying in the first place, the stubborn animal."   
  
     "Jaken-sama! Jaken-sama, look!" Rin beamed as she pointed in a certain direction. It, of course, compelled the toad youkai to turn in that direction.   
  
     "Na—nani?!" His eyes widened in shock as saw the stupid humans and that halfling that they were scouting the area for.   
  
     Rin blew a raspberry at him, making him snarl in disgust. "See, Jaken-sama! I told you Ah'Un would find them!"   
  
     "Whatever," he muttered. "Let's go."   
  
     "Hai," she muttered. Her stomache suddenly flared into her throat as she thought of talking to the "future" girl. She was worried about Sesshou-maru all of the sudden. What if they didn't like her? Who would protect her?   
  


**~*~**

  
     Inuyasha's nose twitched, as did his ears, as he stopped walking and looked around for a few seconds. He snarled as a familiar scent came to him.   
  
     Kagome stopped behind him, then asked, "What is it, Inuyasha?" She paused. "Youkai?"   
  
     "Sesshou-maru…" he muttered angrily. "What does he want now?!" he asked angrily.   
  
     "Sesshou-maru?!" Miroku asked. He put his hand around the prayer beads incase of anything.   
  
     "Why would he come here, now?" Sango asked. "He hasn't concerned us in anything since those neko youkai came by…"   
  
     "I can prepare for the worst," Inuyasha said, grabbing onto the handle of the sword and pulling it out. He looked toward the direction he saw that two headed monster coming, as ugly as it was. He cursed under his breath. They had no time for this.   
  
     He cocked his eyebrow. Sesshou-maru wasn't there.   
  
     It was just Jaken…and a…human?   
  
     What was this?! Sesshou-maru kidnapped a human? How low! He was probably holding her for a meal. "I'll kill that bastard!" he snarled.   
  
  
    Rin jumped off of Ah'Un before the youkai even landed on the ground. "Oi! Rin!" Jaken called angrily, jumping off and grabbing onto the back of her yukata.   
  
     "Let go!" Rin protested.   
  
     Jaken bopped her on her head with his staff. The next thing he knew, he was flung a few feet away.   
  
     "Hey, you," Inuyasha started as he stood in front of the toad youkai. He glared down at him. "What is this?" he asked.   
  
     Jaken fumbled for words as Inuyasha glared down at him. "Areh!" he screamed as Inuyasha grabbed him and held him up. "Put me down, you worthless hanyou!" he finally yelled.   
  
     "Why's there a human with you?" Inuyasha asked darkly. Jaken once again fumbled for words, angering Inuyasha. He shook the smaller youkai fiercely.   
  
  
     "Jaken-sama!" Rin yelled with wide eyes, being held back by Kagome and Sango.   
  
     Sama?   
  
  
     Inuyasha quickly turned around and looked at the girl with question. "Sama?" he asked under his breath. He turned back to Jaken. "Speak," he ordered.   
  
  
     Rin struggled against Kagome's grip, finally freeing herself, and ran toward Inuyasha. "You let go of Jaken-sama!" she yelled.   
  
     "Oi, shut up and go back to the others, brat!" Inuyasha yelled angrily, pointing his sword toward Kagome, making it look as if he was pointing the thing toward Rin.   
  
     She gasped and stopped running. "Put Jaken-sama down…" she pleaded.   
  
     "If you know what's good for you, get back there!" Inuyasha said angrily.   
  
     "Inuyasha! Osuwari!"   
  
     "Nani?! Gwah!!"   
  
     Rin cocked her head to the side as Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother fell to the ground rather ungracefully, dropping Jaken in the process. She ran over to Jaken. "Jaken-sama, daijobu ka?" she asked.   
  
     Jaken glared at Rin. "I'll kill you when Sesshou-maru-sama isn't looking one day, child," he muttered under his breath.   
  
     Kagome threw something at Jaken, then walked toward the three.   
  
     "Kagome! You wench! Why'd you say that!?" Inuyasha asked as he sat up and glared at her.   
  
     "Because you didn't give anyone time to explain themselves," she said as she glared at him. She then looked over at the little girl, whom she'd seen just two days before when Jaken had tried to steal Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga. She was curious as to why she was with him, though.   
  
     She finally saw the cuteness of the girl in such a close up view. "Kawaiiiii!" she squealed.   
  
     But this time, Miroku, Sango, and Shippou had walked over, trying to figure out what was going on.   
  
     Rin then turned to the girl in strange clothing, knowing that she was the future girl. "Aah," she said in happiness, turning away from Jaken. "Are you Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother's miko wench??" she asked innocently.   
  
     There was quiet for a few seconds as Kagome's smile turned downwards. "What?" she asked dully.   
  
     "Rin said, are you Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother's miko wench??" she repeated.   
  
     Kagome then turned to Jaken, then threw a rock at his head again.   
  
     "Areh!"   
  
     Kagome turned back to Rin. "No…my name is Kagome," she said, trying to smile again. She glared back at everyone else as they snickered. And the snickering ceased.   
  
     "Are you the one that can see the shards?" Rin asked.   
  
     "Hai!" Kagome said. "…Why?"   
  
     "Just who are you, anyway?" Inuyasha asked, now sitting up in his doggy fashion.   
  
     Rin looked over at Inuyasha, then inched away from him. "Rin," she muttered. She then turned to Kagome again. "Kagome-sama," she started. "Rin-chan requests your help," she said meekly.   
  
     There was silence, once again.   
  
     "Why are you traveling with Sesshou-maru…?" Miroku spoke up, raising an eyebrow. He finally asked the one question that was roaming in everyone's mind (and that included Jaken).   
  
     "Sesshou-maru brought Rin-chan back to life when—" she was muzzled as Jaken placed a hand over her mouth after bopping her head.   
  
     "He what?!" Inuyasha asked.   
  
     Rin bit on Jaken's hand and the toad youkai let out a shrill yelp before he turned away to nurse his throbbing hand.   
  
     "—and now Rin-chan travels with Sesshou-maru-sama!" she finished off with a cute smile.   
  
     Everyone stared at her in shock. What was this cute girl, too cute, doing, traveling with Sesshou-maru? He was murderous! Wait…nothing made sense. See…Sesshou-maru _despised_ humans…   
  
     "Wait…start all over…?" Sango asked as she stuck her finger out in the air.   
  
     "Rin-chan said, Sesshou-maru-sama brought—"   
  
     "That isn't why we're here, humans!" Jaken said angrily, stomping his foot in anger. There was a matter at hand that he required the wench and the hanyou aid him in!   
  
     "What are you doing here, Jaken?" Inuyasha muttered angrily.   
  
     "Sesshou-maru-sama is lost in a well!" Rin wailed as her eyes watered.   
  
     "And…?" Inuyasha asked.   
  
     "Rin-chan wants Sesshou-maru-sama to come back!" she wailed again.   
  
     Inuyasha's ears twitched. "So what? Why should we care?"   
  
     Rin suddenly looked over at Inuyasha as her eyes further watered. She then turned toward Kagome and made her pupils dilate. "Kagome-sama! Please get Sesshou-maru-sama!" she pleaded.   
  
     Kagome looked at her, then at Inuyasha. She agreed with him fully as he shook his head. "Rin-chan…Sesshou-maru isn't a good youkai. It's best that you forget about him and go to a human village where someone can take care of you the way a guardian should."   
  
     "That's what I've been trying to tell the stupid child, too," Jaken muttered under his breath.   
  
     Rin let out a gasp. "No! Rin-chan loves Sesshou-maru-sama, and Rin-chan doesn't want to leave Sesshou-maru-sama alone!"   
  
     Once again…the silence was quite startling.   
  
     She _wanted_ to be with him?   
  
     Inuyasha stared in shock as the girl started crying. He cursed under his breath. He _hated_ it when girls started crying! Wait!   
  
     "What well?!" Inuyasha asked quickly.   
  
     Rin looked at him, then sniffled. "It's a big well near a village! Rin-chan fell in the well and Rin-chan was crying because Rin-chan was hurt. And Sesshou-maru-sama went in the well to get Rin-chan, but Sesshou-maru-sama fell through the bottom and Sesshou-maru-sama left two pink shards that Kagura-sama gave to him at that bottom."   
  
     Well…village…shards…'falling through the bottom'…it didn't take much to realize what happened.   
  
     "Sesshou-maru _what_?!" Inuyasha suddenly asked, breaking the silence.   
  
     "I think she's trying to say…that Sesshou-maru's in my time…" Kagome muttered.   
  
     "How is that possible, Kagome-sama, when no one else but you and Inuyasha can go to your time?" Miroku asked.   
  
     "…I don't know," Kagome said, thinking deeply. "Maybe through…relation?"   
  
     "That's not the point, humans!" Jaken yelled. "I order you to get Sesshou-maru back _here, this_ instant!"   
  
     Kagome glared at Jaken. She wanted to throw something else at Jaken, that was for sure. "I don't have to listen to you, frog!" Kagome said angrily.   
  
     "Kagome…" Sango started. She looked at Kagome. "…I…think that Jaken's decree is wise. I don't think…that Sesshou-maru would do well in the future…you know…with all of those humans…"   
  
     Kagome saw much truth in the statement. She then looked down at Rin, who tugged on her clothing. "Please, Kagome-sama!" Rin begged. "Rin-chan is scared for Sesshou-maru-sama!"   
  
     Her plea didn't go to pitiless ears.   
  
     Besides, Sesshou-maru in the future was not good…at all. The possibilities of things that could happen to people, her family, made her shiver.   
  
     "Well…" Kagome muttered, "we should. But…it all rests on Inuyasha's shoulders." Everyone then turned to the hanyou.   
  
     Inuyasha's eyes widened as everyone looked at him. "Na—nani?! Me?!" he asked. "No! And I mean no! I can care less about Sesshou-maru!"   
  
     "Please, Inuyasha-sama!" Rin begged as she threw herself onto Inuyasha. "Please, get Sesshou-maru-sama!" her eyes were full of tears.   
  
     Inuyasha looked at her, his ears twitching in anger. He cursed under his breath. Why did Sesshou-maru matter so much to Rin, anyway? And why would she want him back? He looked at her again, only to look away. Why did she care for that heartless bastard…? He wanted answers. "Why?" he asked, testing her. Why was he testing her?!   
  
     It wasn't as if he needed reassurance that she _really_ wanted her Lord to come back! He didn't care!   
  
     "Rin-chan loves Sesshou-maru-sama and Rin-chan wants Sesshou-maru-sama to come back. Sesshou-maru-sama brought Rin-chan back to life and Rin-chan never wants to leave Sesshou-maru-sama, ever!"   
  
     Wow…that said it. She was definitely devoted to him. Strange indeed.   
  
     Inuyasha gave an angered sigh. "Fine," he muttered.   
  
     "Arigatou, Inuyasha-sama!" Rin said as she engulfed him in a fine hug.   
  
     Was this the reason why Sesshou-maru was so tolerant lately?   
  


**~*~**

  
     Sesshou-maru continued walking down the paved road, now on the sidewalk. After getting rid of four humans now, he was quite tired of their blaring youkai that the humans were using to attack his ears.   
  
     He ignored the stares that the petty humans gave him as he continued walking amongst them. Of course they should be looking at him! He was a great lord and youkai! He was definitely different, though…The way he dressed was different, he was far taller than any of them, and the sight of the humans disgusted him. He'd began to turn back so that he could get back to the shrine before, but his scent intermingled with so many other scents was hard to trace.   
  
     The youkai was lost…   
  
     "Heeey, lady."   
  
     A human male had stopped in front of him. The human…had called him a woman. He was becoming less patient with these humans.   
  
     "What's a fine woman like you doing walking in the streets?"   
  
     Sesshou-maru cocked his eyebrow up at the human. What respect…   
  
     "Lookin' for love?"   
  
     Sesshou-maru's patience wore very, very thin. The man didn't know what hit him, but the next thing he knew, he was in the air, feet off the ground, and the "woman" was holding him by the neck. "Stand down, human…" Sesshou-maru said.   
  
     So it wasn't a woman.   
  
     "Put me down, you freak!" the man said.   
  
     Sesshou-maru muttered something, unaware of the stares that he was getting, unaware of the mutters. The acid seeped from his hand onto the humans neck, making the human sputter in terror and struggle against the iron grip.   
  
     A scream, a few screams actually, erupted from the humans, which only pushed Sesshou-maru's anger to the top. He dropped the twitching body of the dead human and turned to the other humans, his knuckles crackling. He was ready to kill more.   
  
     And more he did.   
  
  
     There was a commotion around the corner, the police noticed, as they saw some people running from something. One of them jumped out of his vehicle, then motioned for the other to follow him. They calmly walked around the corner, then gasped in shock to see a multitude of dead people with a lone…person standing in the midst of them all.   
  
     "Get back-up!" the police screamed into the walky-talky…thingy… "There's been a mass murder!"   
  
     "Back-up coming!" the walky-talky…thingy, yelled back.   
  
     Sesshou-maru turned to the two humans, a very disconcerned look on his face. He slid his sword back in the sheath and cocked his eyebrow at the two humans. More of them? They were like roaches.   
  
     "Get a _lot_ of back-up and—gwah!!"   
  
     "Nani?! Hello? Takashi? Takashi?!"   
  
     A chortled scream was left in his wake.   
  
     Sesshou-maru surveyed the scene indifferently. There still more of those humans…but they were obviously getting the picture to stay out of his way. He looked around for quite a while. Such impudent, low life beasts…   
  
     A loud sound ached his ears, making him turn in the direction it came from. More of those blasted youkai? He thought he got rid of them. These ones were different, though. Large and black.   
  
     He cocked his eyebrow as humans piled out of the youkai, all in black. They all pointed some…thing at him. He growled in anger. They pestered him! He jumped in the air before landing on the black youkai and 'killing' it with the spew of his acid.   
  
     "What the—" one of the men looked in shock. No one could jump that high…and far. And why…did acid come out of his hand?!   
  
     He gasped in shock as the man's — woman's…man's…feet delicately touched the ground. Before he could even blink, the 'man' took down 6 of the other men!   
  
     What was this?!   
  
     He fired a shot at the man, shocked an angered as he missed and got down one of his own men.   
  
  
     Sesshou-maru cocked his eyebrow as he barely dodged that small…thing. He looked at the human who'd fired it, then went for him.   
  
     He heard a booming sound and something stung his chest, and by the time he'd stopped looked down…there was a very small hole in his armour. He could feel his blood seeping through his haori.   
  
     This wasn't humourous at all…   
  
     He looked back at the human, then glared angrily before he let out another growl. He went for the human again before he heard another boom, and then felt another sting. This time in his leg. He turned around to look at the human that did this to him. There were so many of them that he didn't know.   
  
     He really didn't care, though. He let out his toxic flower whip, killing just a few more before he heard the booms a numerous amount of times.   
  
     Wait…   
  
     This was…painful.   
  
     He was bleeding in various places now. He let out an angered growl. His muscles and bones…ached. How dare these humans?! Something suddenly stung him in his neck, which compelled him to place his hand there before pulling away. There was a small…thing in his hand, sharp and pointed with a fuzzy end.   
  
     What was this?   
  
     He cursed under his breath. His senses…were starting to flare. This situation…wasn't right at all. Something was very, very wrong.   
  
     He would have jumped high enough into the air, or even flown off, but his eyes blurred as soon as he was at a certain elevation, and his body felt extremely heavy on him.   
  
     He was tired?   
  
     Impossible. This Sesshou-maru was never tired.   
  
     The ground suddenly came closer to him. Too quickly.   
  
     And he slammed into the ground, unceremoniously to add. He tried to pick himself up off the ground as diginified as possible. But with only on arm, and feeling weak, made getting up very difficult. He let out a growl before hitting the ground again. Everything around him blackened. The last he even heard were the patterting of the human's feet around him and some muttering.   
  
  
     "He killed all of these people!" one of the men yelled. "He can't be human!"   
  
     "What do you mean, he can't be human?! What do you expect him to be, a dog?!"   
  
     "Did you see how high he jumped?! And how long he lasted with all these bullets in him?!"   
  
     "He's carrying a sword…"   
  
     "He's carrying two swords!"   
  
     "He's dangerous!"   
  
     "It's like he's some sort of genetically advanced human! Look at the color of his hair! And what's this fur thing?!"   
  
     "Let's take him to the investigation labs…"   
  
     "Let's take him to the secret labs…" one of them whispered. "You know…find out what it is…"   
  
     "You're right…this is an interesting find…"   
  
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*o* SESSHOU-MARU-SAMA HAS FALLEN AND HE CAN'T GET UP XDXD!! Hmm…Sesshou-maru torture is in full swing :D I'm sorry if anyone seemed out of character. I'm trying to keep them IN character…but it's kind of difficult. And be happy, this is the longest chapter I've written in a LONG time!! *shakes fist* Review responses:   
  
  
_ atlas-86: Yes…muahaha~~ Sesshou-maru is trapped in the future, and his torture is soon to come. *cries* And yes, I'm making a comic. If I had a website, I'd post it there, then again, I'd never update because I'd have no time :P   
  
jess who go oro: Yah, he'll be experimented on and uber-tortured XDXD I dunno…hmm…I'm really trying to figure out who will be his rescuer, and it can only be THREE people, as of now, and I'm not telling who XD   
  
Crystal Jewel: Kaykay, it's been updated ^-^ And my other story has been updated too. Now to update AEFOT. As of now, it is only three people on my mind who will rescue Sess…   
  
Ember Firecat: 'Twas done. And yes, Fluffy is good. Yes…good fluffy *pets* XDXD   
  
Mizu-Crystal: Hola! Did you see Wakadori Ramen yet?? ^-^ J/K. Um…I try to update when possible, see? ^-^   
  
MageofDarkness: ^-^THANKS FOR REVIEWING!! Yes, no pairings…See what happened to Sessy in this chappie? It get's worse >_>   
  
Yun Fei: Your name is so prettiful, really it is ^-^. Yah, Jaken is a baka, but I love him ^-^. He's so funny, and the way Sesshy abuses him (like how he steps on him like he isn't there) is quite amusing ^-^ I've continued ^-^   
  
  
_ Kay, that's it. Please go read my other stories, and even my one shot. And don't forget to review XDXD Ja ne, minna~~~   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Poison

*o* You guys like this ficcie? OH sankyu!! I'm glad you're enjoying this…story that will be full of angst o_O And just so you know, there will be no Mary-Sues (whatever those are, but I think I'm catching on to the meaning :P). It's going to be…not so complicated, and I don't even think that it'll be a long fic either. Whatever is of it, please enjoy. And please enjoy this chappie! It doesn't have THAT much torture in it…none much…^-^ Review responses at the bottom ^-^   
  
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**_Water and Blood_   
  
  
Poison**

  
  
  
  
    "Wait, so how is this that we're going to set this up?" Miroku asked. We was definitely the brains of the group today. "If Inuyasha and Kagome-sama go to the 'future', then who does that leave this child with?"   
  
     Kagome pondered about the question. She looked over at Jaken for a few seconds. The youkai was currently holding back the will to kill Rin as she continued putting flowers in his hat. "I wouldn't be wise to leave her with…_Jaken_…" she said, sputtering his name in disgust. She then looked over at Sango, Miroku, and Shippou with a smile on her lips.   
  
     "For what reason do you smile, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked. He definitely didn't like the smile that dribbled on her lips.   
  
     "You guys…can take care of her for now…" she suggested.   
  
     "What are you doing, you brat?!" came Inuyasha's erupting voice. All turned to him and looked for a few seconds before they all let out a small smile. Rin was standing behind him, rubbing those ears of his.   
  
     "Kawaiii…~~" Rin squealed happily. "Sesshou-maru-sama's ears aren't fuzzy like these," she said sadly after a while.   
  
     Did that mean she'd touched his ears before? He _allowed_ her to do that?!   
  
     "But Sesshou-maru-sama's fluffy…thing…is really fuzzy. I named it Fluffy!" she said, putting a smile with her uplifting words.   
  
     It was quiet for a few seconds and Jaken stood there, his jaws slacked as he stared at Rin. He _knew_ that Sesshou-maru _definitely_ didn't want to let that one out, _especially_ to his half-brother. That was it, Rin had just commited an act of blasphemy!   
  
     Miroku snorted. Everyone looked at him, the person who was usually calm and collected (except around women). He gave a short laugh. What was so funny? This was disturbing. Sesshou-maru plus Fluffy didn't quite add up… "Fluffy…" he muttered to himself.   
  
     Sango suddenly smiled at the word. It was pretty funny, and ironic, being that it was derived from Sesshou-maru's pelt. It wasn't long until everyone was laughing, discluding Rin and Jaken, who thought that poking fun at his Lord's name was an act of _sacrilege_.   
  
     "Nani?" Rin asked with her head cocked at one side. "Why is everyone laughing? Evreyone should be sad that Sesshou-maru-sama is missing!"   
  
     Everyone thought she was kidding, which made them erupt into tumultuous laughter.   
  
     Rin's eyes slightly watered as she looked at all the people. But she wasn't happy! She wasn't happy at all! Her Sesshou-maru-sama was missing and everyone was laughing. "No one cares about Sesshou-maru-sama?" she asked. But it was a bit more of a statement than none. She erupted in tears and took a few steps back from the group who obviously had no want or care to help her.   
  
     "Jaken-sama…" she drawled. The youkai turned to her. "Let's go, Jaken-sama. Sesshou-maru-sama's little half-brother doesn't care about Sesshou-maru-sama…" She started walking toward Ah'Un.   
  
     "Hey, where's she going?" Shippou asked, looking over at the retreating girl's direction.   
  
     The laughing ceased and everyone watched for a few seconds before Kagome spoke up. "Rin-chan! Where're you going? We said we'd help you."   
  


**~*~**

  
     Much discomfort. The inu youkai felt much discomfort for a few seconds. But what was this? He was still in his Western Lands. He was still in Sengoku Jidai. He was just…sitting against a tree.   
  
     Right?   
  
     Something filled his nostrils. He mentally cursed. The foul smell of humans was stinging his nose. He could hear someone speaking. Some _people_ speaking. Humans? Those filth. It was definitely a different dialect, but it was still Japanese. As if it had gone through some transformation.   
  
     _Look…nothing shows us here that he is a human. Look at the print out of the structure of it's genes that I just made.   
  
     …This is interesting…It is as if…this thing is…a higher life form. It has some attributes of a human, as opposed to looking like some sort of animal. But take a look here, at the eyes…   
  

_He winced a something cold and salty practically pried his eye open. He gave a short snarl, content when the instrument was taken away from his pupil.   
  
     _Wow…and those aren't contacts?   
  
     No…   
  
     Do you think that this was once a human and someone took hold of it? As in…they performed scientific experiments with it? Changed or modified it genetically?   
  
     That…could be possible. But we have to remember that just because we are ahead of most of the world with our science today doesn't mean that we can actually carry out what we want to do. I don't think anyone has broken through with genetically modifiying a human after they were born…   
  
     That's true. And also…look at the eyebrows in comparison to the hair. They're the same color. The hair color is natural. But how does someone go about having silver hair?   
  

_He gave another warning snarl as the aforementioned part of his face was gently fondled, then his hair was tugged on lightly. Could they not hear him? What was this?!   
  
     _It's waking…   
  
     Should we inject another dose of the drug to get it to doze off?   
  
     That would be good. We don't want anything to happen before we finish giving this brief examination. Thorough examination will come later.   
  
     All right, doctor.   
  

_He slightly hissed as something stung him on his shoulder. He gave a grunt. He mentally cursed again. He was getting tired…   
  
     _It isn't as if this specimen was born with some sort of progeria, going on with the silver hair factor…   
  
     What was this that he felt coursing through his body. He could literally smell the change of his blood. This thing that was put inside of him was what was making him tired again. Was it some sort of poison?!   
  
     Exactly. It's perfectly proportioned.   
  

_What's this…fur…thing?   
  
     He couldn't grasp anything anymore. The rest of the words were much a blur to him…   
  
  
     "We actually haven't done anything to look at that yet," said one of the scientists.   
  
     "Now tell me again…what was it that happened earlier today."   
  
     "Well…all I could really remember was arriving at the scene and seeing him sheath one of the swords at his side…"   
  
     At the statement, everyone looked at the two swords. For some reason…no one felt safe with the swords at the specimen's side like that. One of the younger one's reached for the Toujikin and successfully pulled it away from the side and set it aside. He reached for the other sword, then yelled loudly as an electric force pushed his hand away.   
  
     The longer they had this specimen, the more they found out about it!   
  
     "What the—"   
  
     It was as if the sword had some sort of forcefield around it or something.   
  
     "Let's not…worry about that right now…" said the doctor.   
  
     "Hai, Tokugawa-san…" muttered the one scientest as he cradled his hand.   
  
     "Let's go for a half an hour break for right now. We'll come back and give her a bit more of an examination…"   
  


**~*~**

  
     _I know, but just look at that structure…   
  
_His eyes fluttered a few times after he found it hard to have clear vision. Were his eyes even open? He cursed softly as soon as he was able to get his tongue working correctly. What was that that they'd injected inside of his body? It greatly impaired his senses, that was for sure.   
  
     A cold draft caressed his chest for a few seconds, and he questioned that. Greatly. Where was his sheild? Where was his upper garment?   
  
     _Look at it's studded arm. It looks like a clean cut…   
  
     Yah, well judging from what we heard about about it before, it can still fight with only one arm, and pretty well to boot. Something about being able to use sword…   
  
     You know what I heard? That out of it's hand can come this…thing that is obviously an acid because it can chew through metals and flesh!"   
  

_There was a long, drawn-out whistle. _Maybe we oughta get rid of the other arm, too, he suggested. Might be better for us.   
  
_His senses flared at the suggestion. He needed to get himself working again. He cursed mentally, pushing his body to cooperate with his orders. This poison that was put into him, it stunted his actions, didn't it?   
  
     _What use would it be if it didn't have any arms?!_   
  
     These humans were irking him…And—yes!—he could feel some of his senses slowly coming as they made unimportant conversation with each other in the strange Japanese dialect.   
  
  
     "True…I guess…"   
  
     The conversation was becoming less fuzzy to his ears.   
  
     "But look at the claws. I mean, they look like they were meant for killing!"   
  
     "Yah…that's something else that we'll have to watch out for." He wrote down some of the observation in a pad. He then paused and the two of them were quiet for a while. He looked over the facial marks of the creature. "And look at those marks. They look like tatoos…"   
  
     "But the skin isn't protruding, so it's obviously…well…real markings."   
  
     "You know…I just still can't believe that this is a male. I mean, looking at all the features: the hair, the facial markings, that red…stuff over his eyes, even the eyes and lips, and the lean body all hint towards a woman."   
  
     "Yah…" the other scientist was rather distracted as he looked at the marks on the face a bit further. Reaching out, he touched one of the marks again to see if it was a tatoo.   
  
     A hand tightly clasped around his neck, making him stop in his movements and let out a chortled gasp.   
  
     "Kami-sama!" the other scientist yelled as he took a few steps back. His eyes widened as he saw the male…specimen sit up, eyeing the scientist still tightly in his grasp.   
  
     "Human…" Sesshou-maru started darkly, "do not disgrace this Sesshou-maru's body with your filth…" He tightened his grip around the humans neck as he stood up. The man's feet lifted off of the ground and kicked around a bit as he let out whimpers of fear.   
  
     The other scientist, only thinking of one thing right now, quickly ran towards the door of the room and pressed the large red button plastered onto the wall, conviniently so for occations like these.   
  
     Sesshou-maru looked around for a few seconds, the human still twisting and shaking in his grip. What was this place. All of the walls were covered with metal…with no holes to breathe. It was as if it was an enclosed cage of some sort. There was nothing that he could grab onto without his hand simply slicking right over it.   
  
     When after a few seconds, red flared his vision, he looked around warily. There was a shrill sound that repeated itself over and over again, along with the red flashing off and on.   
  
     The tiniest of hairs on his neck prickled upwards. None of the situations he was in felt right. And—he cursed while dropping the human to the floor—he definitely felt danger in this situation.   
  
     When the 'cage door' was flung open, he gave a simple cock of his eyebrow. He went to grab Toukijin at his side, completely confuzzled (A/N: Don't bash my word >_>) when it wasn't there. Nor was Tensusaiga! Wait…how…who touched his swords? Humans couldn't dare bring their hands close to either of the swords without being repelled by their forces.   
  
     So now he had no weapons? What was this?   
  
     A few of those humans piled into the room, again with those things that were pointed at him earlier (but how much earlier?). His senses were flaring now. These humans…he didn't consider humans posing such a threat to him, but here they were in front of him right now, not fearing him, but leaning toward attacking him. And his hackles were rising…   
  
     He held his hand in front of him as to let out dokkasu…but something told him not to do that. He was…in too much…danger…And he was getting pissed. He wanted nothing more—_demanded_ nothing more than to return from wence he'd come.   
  
     He was no longer able to see as red clouded his vision. He would transform if need be. His hair flared about him as if some sort of tumultuous wind was rioting throught the room.   
  
     "He's changing!" one of them yelled. 'Or something…'   
  
     All took a step back and watched in a dazed stupor as he practically transformed in front of them into a giant…   
  
     …   
  
     _Dog…?_   
  
     This was beyond them. Some were too fascinated to be afraid. Some felt too threatened to be fascinated. It was definitely…a different sight. Not even different, but awe inspiring. But either way, everyone stared at the giant…_gigantic_ transformation that'd just occurred.   
  
     And no one could believe their eyes. They blocked their ears unsuccessfully (they still had things in their hands) as barks, feral and angry, errupted about them. Some even sounded defensive…   
  
     Of course, no one believed their eyes until one of them was brutatily, _hostily_ attacked and mauled by the teeth of the angered dog. And that was when all rational thought once again flowed into their minds and the knew that they had to put the dog 'to sleep'. Of course, not it was in the literal fashion, not actually killing him off.   
  
     This was too great a find.   
  
     So they all did their job in giving doses of shots to the dog. It moved about for a while longer, still trying to attack just a few, but it's movements too slow.   
  
     It came to a point where the dog walked in a couple of circles before setting itself on the floor and curling within itself (as a real dog would do) and then it fell into the sleep that it's much so craved for.   
  


**~*~**

  
     Sango looked at the girl sleeping against the houshi, whom she'd deemed worthy enough to sleep against. The houshi had an irritated look on his face. Her snickering only made him glower at him all the more. Kagome smiled over at him as well, whispering something to Inuyasha, which made the hanyou's ears twitch in annoyance.   
  
     Shippou was watching the little girl before he took some of Kagome's coloring instruments and drawing up her sleeping form. Inuyasha stood up a couple of seconds later, asking Kagome…nicely…if she would follow him.   
  
  
     "What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she whispered to him. He obviously wanted to be quiet, being that he was in his stealth mode.   
  
     Inuyasha then glowered at her, crossing his arms slowly. "Kagome, we don't have to do this tomorrow," he said.   
  
     "What?" she asked. "Why not? The sooner the better."   
  
     "…Let's just say that this will be Sesshou-maru's lesson learned. He deserves it, anyway."   
  
     Kagome looked at him strangely. "Inuyasha…stop being so ambitious!" she nearly yelled. "If you want so badly to rid of Sesshou-maru, do it in this time. But right now, I don't even know what's going on in my time!" She paused for a few seconds. "For all I know, he could have killed Souta, or kasaan! I'm not going to waste time getting him back here!"   
  
     "Fine, wench. You go back tomorrow if you want to. I'm staying right here!" He snuffed in her direction.   
  
     "You're going…" Kagome said in a testy voice.   
  
     "No I'm not!" Inuyasha said loudly. He turned his back on her and was ready to walk back to the camp sight.   
  
     "Inuyasha…" Kagome said after a while.   
  
     "What?" he asked.   
  
     "Osuwari."   
  
     "Nan—gwah!!"   
  
     Kagome stormed past the fallen hanyou, muttering a few things afterwards that she knew he heard.   
  
_ _ _ _  
_ _ _ _   
  
  
Hmm…as I told you, not much torture. There wasn't any at all, actually :P. But anyway, I'm hope you peeps like this. I admit, yes, that it was a slow chapyer, but I assure you that the plot will be moving on by the next chappie ^-^ Anway, you guys must read my other story Black Heart, unless you already do ^o^. And check out my new story called Life is Pain pwease. It's a Sango/Kohaku kawaii story (No, they're not paired up >:O), but no ones reviewed it T_T. Is it really that bad?! Review responses:   
  
  
_MageofDarkness: Hmm…I'm really starting to like Evanescene…the singer has such a prettiful voice. Oh sad you say? Hmm…I guess you'll have to read on. I really wasn't trying to make it sound sad XD   
  
Madame Arrow Foxfire: >_> Torture is coming soon, las! Just give it some time. ^-^   
  
Yun Fei: Yes, he will be experimented on. Horribly T_T. But don't we ALL just love a lil' torture here and there? (I happen to love torture everywhere…). Hmm…Inuyasha and Kagome…I'll see about that. I'm sure of who it will be for now, though. But we'll see as the plot moves on.   
  
Crystal Jewel: Yes, I DID update ^-^. This chappie too! Anyway, grr to emailing! I'll try resending you those piccys. As soon as possible *has had no time to write emails =_=*   
  
Tsume Yamagata: *cowers and runs to computer* Hai, Tsume-sama! XD And yes, humans ARE roaches >_>   
  
StarryEyedChick: Yah, well I don't know if Sess would kill the humans if it got to the point of him getting thrown into the future. Yah, Sess DIDN'T know what hit him. And they'll be hitting him a LOT more (hint hint). And what's so funny about tranquilizers :3?   
  
Spectrum: Meh, I guess I'll fix those…sometime from now >_> Don't get started about Sesshou-maru! *hugs wailing Sesshou-maru* Shh, Sesshy-chan, all will be fine…She just doesn't like you cuz…um…she doesn't like you. Shhh…_   
  
  
Anyway, those are the review responses. Meanwhile…hm…kay, bye bye. And read my other stories >:O It is demanded of you!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Possessions

Wow~finally an update ^^ I really shouldn't be writing this! (I have so many things that I have to do for school XD) I'm just glad that you guys seem to like this story ^^. I guess the real Sesshy torture will start in this chapter, but one can never be TOO sure…o_O Review responses are at the bottom.   
  
_ _   
  
  


**_Water and Blood   
  
  
Possessions_**

  
  
  
  
    A cold sweat ran down his forehead from his uneasiness. This Sesshou-maru never perspired. But it was hot where he was. A dark, closed in room, and he had no use of his hand and feet.   
  
     Chained like a dog.   
  
     He would kill these humans. No—not even kill, he would massacre them _all_. No one—_no one_—chained this Sesshou-maru hand and feet.   
  
     It had been rather unsuccessful when he had before tried to spew his acid on the cold, tight metal. He found it rather shocking that as much power as he conjured into his fingers, nothing came out. Nothing.   
  
     Instead, a shock ran through his arm and he had to hold back a yelp. The after affects left his arm shivering.   
  
     But he was persistent, and he wouldn't let a shock bother him. By now, his eyes were adjusted to the dark, so he eyed the chains and pulled on them. It was a tight hold that he had of them at first, but then his fingers started to slip under the slick metal. So he tried again with his dokkasu. It was nearly instant this time when a small flash of white emitted from the chain and traveled up to his arm.   
  
     He would have helped it, but his body compelled him to at least gave a short, soft, and nearly inaudible (even to his own ears) whimper.   
  
  
    "It's like an animal, Doctor Mukai…" said the scientist. "It'll keep on going at it even though it get's hurt."   
  
     "It was rather strange to see its body revert to its "human" looking form from that giant canine, Takana. And it was still clothed. It makes me wonder if they are some sort of…extension of its body," replied Mukai.   
  
     "Look at that," pointed another scientist, pointing to the screen. "It tried again to use…that thing from its hand. It was shocked again." She put the pencil tip on her chin and cocked her head to the side lightly. It was a rather interesting specimen.   
  
     "I'm just glad that we got a chain that was activated by the change of sugar in the blood. Who knew that that thing would be useful for us," replied Takana to the female scientist.   
  
     "I want a closer look at this find," Mukai said out of the blue. He took a step towards the exit door.   
  
     "Are you sure that it's safe to go in there?" Takana said.   
  
     "What if it attacks you?" Asako, the female scientist, asked.   
  
     "I'll be fine," Mukai replied. "Besides, as long as I am far away from him—it—, I'll be fine. It's not like it can do anything anyway." He opened the door and stopped it with his foot before turning to the two scientists again. "When I'm done with it, have Chisei get another sample of its blood. I'd like to find some more things about it."   
  
     "Hai, Mukai-san," Asako replied. "Do you wish us to put the heat sensors on these screens so that we can test its blood temperature before and after you acquaint yourself with him?"   
  
     "That'd be wise, Asako. You two do that, and you, Takana, I want you to write down every single change and any other thing that you might deem important."   
  
     "You got it," was Takana's reply.   
  
     Mukai walked out the door, but stuck his head back in again. "Did anyone catch what it called itself?" he asked.   
  
     "No. Takaho said that it'd mentioned something like, 'This…something or another', but the poor guy's too shocked to remember anything more."   
  
     "Alright then," Mukai then closed the door and went down a flight of steps before standing in front of the door that had this strange specimen behind it.   
  
  
    The humans were just watching him. He could feel their eyes upon him. He could hear their words, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He cursed inwardly when a pale light flooded before his eyes as one of their doors opened. That strange contraption…they didn't even have to use their hands to open it.   
  
     It closed right after one of the humans stepped through. They were blasted lazy.   
  
     "Ah…" he heard the human say as he took a few steps toward him. The human couldn't see too well because it was so dark, but Sesshou-maru's eyes had already adjusted to the dark as if it was day right now, so he could see everything clearly. His anger instantly bridled within him and low growl escaped from his lips from deep within his chest. "No need to growl like the dog that you can make yourself," the human said. "Give me a bit of light," he ordered loudly.   
  
     The youkai once again squinted as a bit of light flooded into the room.   
  
     "Much better," the human said as he smiled down at the youkai. "I'm Doctor Mukai. How does my specimen fair?" he asked after a while.   
  
     Sesshou-maru's anger rose. "Human, this Sesshou-maru is under no ownership."   
  
     "Oh, are you not? What did you call yourself? Sesshou-maru?" He smirked as a low growl came from the youkai again (A/N: He doesn't know that Sesshou-maru is a youkai, by the way). "…I have you for as long as I want until I find out what you are, and from where you've come."   
  
     "If your life is of value to you, human," Sesshou-maru started with his voice an octave lower than usual, "These bonds will be released from my body." It wasn't as if when he was released he wouldn't kill the old man. Oh no, he was going to make sure that he killed the human nice and slow.   
  
     "And what will you do if I don't," Mukai posed. He took a few steps closer to the youkai until he was standing just in front of him. "You're mine."   
  
     The words angered the youkai. And he was in such close range…   
  
     It was almost as fast as the speed of light! The youkai now had the old human by the neck. Too bad nothing could seep from his fingertips or else this old man's neck would have melted off by now. And he couldn't tight his grip.   
  
     It was as if his strength was stunted.   
  
     He cursed in thought. The human wasn't afraid—at all!   
  
     "You have the eyes of a murderer," Mukai said with a smirk on his lips. "You have a feral, wild look in your eyes."   
  
     Sesshou-maru's reddening eyes turned toward the opening door. He somewhat calmed, not out of good intentions, when a small fleet of people came into the room with their weapons pointed at him again.   
  
     The last thing he wanted to do right now was sleep.   
  
     His instincts told him to drop the human in his grip, and that was what he did.   
  
     "I'm fine, I'm fine," Mukai said as he stood up and rubbed his neck and waved his other hand in dismissal as he walked towards the men. "No need to shoot it. Yet." He turned to look at the youkai for a last time with a grin on his lips. "Hurry out, now," he said, pushing the men out of the room and shutting the door right after.   
  
     Sesshou-maru stared at it for a few seconds with his eyebrows turned inward. He wavered on his feet for a few seconds before he crouched low. Within a few seconds, the lights flickered off and he looked about, aloof to everything around him.   
  
     This situation wasn't light anymore.   
  
     He was practically being dominated by these humans. And he didn't like it a bit.   
  
     _"I have you for as long as I want…You're mine…" _   
  
     The words struck a chord in him. He was pissed. He was no one's. This Sesshou-maru did not belong to _any_one.   
  
  
    "So we know that 'Sesshou-maru' is capable of speech and has intelligence," Mukai said, making sure that Takana was writing everything down. "Write as an extra that when he speaks, he uses a different tongue of Japanese. He uses the ancient tongue. And also write that he refers to us as humans, so he obviously thinks he has stature above us."   
  
     "Ancient?" Takana said as he looked up at the older scientist.   
  
     "From the looks of it all," interrupted Asako, "I'd say that he's some sort of ancient youkai." She then gave a short laugh at her words. "But then again, we all know that youkai don't exist."   
  
     "Exactly, there were just things that bored writers of ancient Japan made up. Sort of like Greek mythology. They're just games. They're just myth." Mukai waved his hand in dismissal.   
  
     Takana sat back and rested his hand behind his head. "So what are we going to do with 'Sesshou-maru' anyway? Run some sort of tests?" he asked.   
  
     "Why, yes, of course!" Mukai answered, looking at the younger scientist with wide eyes. "We have to know what we have here. That's not it only, to find out what we have in our hands. But there have been many new technologies that we've made and we have only been able to test them out on animals. He's the closest thing we have to a human as of now."   
  
     "Is it that we have once again gone ahead of ourselves?" Asako asked. "Our technology has far exceeded America's and Germany's. With as much power as we gain every few years, we just might be able to become the strongest country in the world!"   
  
     "That's the way I've been seeing it for years now, Asako…" Mukai said. It was time for a change of subject. "So we received this gift yesterday afternoon," he started. "Later on today, I'd like to start with his first test…"   
  
     "Sure thing, Mukai-san," Takana replied.   
  
     The old man stood up. "Have our team, Takana, clean up _all_ of the mess that 'Sesshou-maru' made yesterday in the city. Try looking until you can't find anything more. Every part of him is needed. Make sure that no one even _remembers_ of him being in the city. If the news cast tries to talk to the team, tell them to tell the news cast that they don't know what's going, just following orders."   
  
     "Roger that."   
  


**~*~**

  
     Kagome jumped out of the well and crouched by the side of it, waiting for Inuyasha to also come out. The hanyou came out of the well with his tongue hanging out of his mouth slightly and his fingers pinching his nose. "It smells too much like Sesshou-maru in there," he said in exasperation.   
  
     "Suck it up, Inuyasha…" Kagome muttered. She turned toward the entrance of the shrine and stood up. "Hurry up, Inuyasha. The faster, the better!"   
  
     Inuyasha's nose pricked upward a bit. "He's definitely been here," he muttered. "His scent was definitely here…"   
  
     "…But where is he now?" she asked. She watched blankly as Inuyasha crouched low onto the ground and starting sniffing out his brother's scent.   
  
     "I can't believe I'm doing this…" he muttered as he continued to sniff. "I could care less for Sesshou-crapu. And now you go and make me 'save' him. Chh, like he needs any saving in the first place."   
  
     "Just shut up and keep sniffing, Inuyasha!" Kagome said. She watched as the hanyou exited the shrine and turned the corner. Her heart rate started beating a bit faster and she held her hand up to it. 'Please, kami-sama, tell me Sesshou-maru didn't go to my home…'   
  
     Inuyasha walked back into the shrine and stared at Kagome. "Oi, Kagome," he said, taking her out of her thoughts. "You coming?" he asked.   
  
     "Huh? Oh yeah…" she muttered. She exited the shrine and stood outside of it next to Inuyasha. "…Do you know where he is?" she asked.   
  
     "If you're thinking that he went into your home, you're mistaken. Come on, let's go inside."   
  
     "Kay," Kagome muttered, walking inside her home and waiting for Souta to invite her in.   
  
     "Tadaima!" Kagome yelled as she entered the home and closed the door after Inuyasha walked through. Okay, so Souta didn't answer, but at least her mother did. ["I'm back!"]   
  
     "Kagome!" she said as she walked to her daugther. "You're back?" she asked. "Already?"   
  
     "Yah, well," Kagome started, "something sort of happened and I need to remedy it before it gets too bad."   
  
     "Do you know what happened here?!" Higurashi-san asked. Her features displayed a bit of fear. Kagome shook her head lightly, then cocked her head to one side. "Sit, sit!" the mother goaded, leading them to the couch.   
  
     "Oi, Higurashi-san, what's up?" he asked. He could feel her fear.   
  
     "It was in the news, as much information as those people could find. Yesterday afternoon, this man murdered one of the people going driving through the neighbourhood. And then later that day, he murdered about 17 more people in the town; even women and children!"   
  
     Kagome and Inuyasha stared at her wide eyed. Was it possible…that it was Sesshou-maru? "Did…did they identify who it was?" Kagome asked weakly, her hand slightly shaking.   
  
     She knew it. She _knew_ that this was bad.   
  
     "…No," Higurashi-san looked down with a sigh. "But we don't know what happened to him. People that actually saw him said that he had silver-grey hair and a strange garb…but that was all they picked up about him. Not many saw him at all because everyone was too worried about fleeing the scene. Those that saw him rather easily were the unfortunate ones to die…"   
  
     Inuyasha's anger bridled within him. "Sesshou-maru…" he muttered angrily, his fist clenching dangerously.   
  
     "Inuyasha, stay calm…" Kagome muttered as she turned to him. Though she had to admit, she had a horrible feeling at the pit of her stomache. "Kasaan…where's Souta?" she asked after turning to her mother.   
  
     "He's at a friends house out of town…" she muttered. "The schools have been closed so that those that lost their family members could mourn for the dead…Ano…who's Sesshou-maru?"   
  
     Inuyasha stood up suddenly, his ears pricking up in anger. "Where is he?!" he asked.   
  
     "…Who's Sesshou-maru?" she repeated.   
  
     "Kasaan…Sesshou-maru is Inuyasha's half brother…the youkai that I spoke to you about a while ago," Kagome replied.   
  
     "Oh…I think I minutely remember, now that you mentioned that." She paused for a short while before smiling at Inuyasha. "Why don't you sit down. We know you're worried for your brother, but you have to remain calm…"   
  
     "Worried?! That piece of s—"   
  
     "Inuyasha…" Kagome started with a dangerous tone.   
  
     "Why would I be worried about him?!" Inuyasha continued. "I could care less for that son of a—"   
  
     "Inuyasha, osuwari," Kagome said briskly.   
  
     Higurashi-san brought her hand to her mouth as Inuyasha smashed into the floor and a yelp escaped from his mouth. "Maa…" she muttered.   
  
     "Kasaan…you have to tell me—where is he?" Kagome asked.   
  
     "That's the thing, Kagome…" Higurashi-san started, "No one knows what happened to him. He sort of…disappeared…" she said over dramatically.   
  
     "Kasaan, this is very serious. Did they see him fly off in any certain direction or anything like that?"   
  
     "No one knows," she said. "Seriously, honey."   
  
     Inuyasha picked himself off the ground. "What do you mean, disappeared?! Someone has to know what happened to him!" he said angrily. "He shouldn't even be in this time," he muttered.   
  
     "We have to find him as soon as possible," Kagome said as she stood up. "Inuyasha, let's go, maybe you can sniff him out."   
  
     "Oi, don't make me sound like I'm some sort of dog," he stated as he shook his fist at her.   
  
     "…Right," Kagome muttered. "Let's go. The sooner, the better." Inuyasha muttered a few things inaudibaly after she said that and started for the door.   
  
     "Wait!" Hifurashi-san said. Inuyasha let out a breath of annoyance. "I don't think you want to go on empty stomaches. Do you want something to eat before you go out on your search?"   
  


**~*~**

  
     "Your mother is just weird, Kagome," Inuyasha muttered after they turned the corner. "Doesn't she do something else all day other than smile?" he asked sarcastically.   
  
     "Shut up, Inuyasha," Kagome muttered. "Just get his scent."   
  
     Inuyasha muttered something inaudible before he went on his hands and feet to snuff out Sesshou-maru's scent.   
  
  
    Kagome smiled weakly as people stared at her…well not her really, but the human…at her feet. There weren't too many out in the street because of the happinings of yesterday, but there were quite a few people.   
  
     "Kagome, his smell is getting stronger," Inuyasha said as he got off of his hands and stood straight, walking normally now.   
  
     "…Inuyasha…do you think you can be a bit more…you know…inconspicuous?" she asked.   
  
     "No!" he yelled. "I already hate the fact that I have to wear this thing on my head _and_ pull up my hair so no one will see it. Now you want me to disguise myself more?" He crossed his arm and continued walking. "There's no way."   
  
     "Fine, fine," Kagome muttered. Inuyasha stopped short suddenly, his nose twitching slightly. "What is it?" Kagome asked.   
  
     "…His scent…it's stronger around here," he muttered. He continued walking for a while longer and then halted in his steps. He sniffed loudly, turning in a full circle. He took a few steps toward a certain direction, the took a few steps back again. His ears gave a slight twitch and he cursed aloud.   
  
     "What is it?" Kagome asked. Before Inuyasha could answer, he took another few steps around the middle of the street, walking a few more feet away and returning straight to the spot he had been standing at before. He cursed again. "What?" Kagome repeated. "What's wrong?" She walked over to him and stood right by him, looking at the spot where he was looking. "_What_?"   
  
     "…His blood…" Inuyasha muttered with his eyes thinned. "His blood is covering the ground slightly."   
  
     "His…blood?" she asked. "Do you think…that he was…"   
  
     "And his scent is gone, too," Inuyasha added.   
  
     "What?! Gone?!" Kagome asked. "As in…it just stops right here?!"   
  
     "I can't smell him any further than this point."   
  
     Kagome took a slight inhale, staring at the ground where Inuyasha continued to stare. "…Inuyasha…" she started softly.   
  
     "What?" he asked.   
  
     "…What does it mean?"   
  
     There was a pause. "I have no clue." (A/N: I almost ended of the chapter right here…)   
  


**~*~**

  
     "That girl is restless…" Miroku muttered in anger.   
  
     "I find it rather amusing," Sango stated.   
  
     There was quiet for a little while. "It find it rather strange that Sesshou-maru travels with a human child," Miroku stated. "What does she do with him all day? The girl's feet are calloused."   
  
     "Is she asleep yet?" she asked.   
  
     "Finally," he answered. "I tell you, she's a picky little brat. First she wants a fire, then she wants something warm, and then she wanted me to sleep next to her so that she could keep warm."   
  
     The two paused at the statements.   
  
     "That makes me sort of wonder…" Sango started. "…If that's the way Sesshou-maru treats the girl…"   
  
     Miroku cocked his eyebrow. "I agree. That's something I didn't expect of him." He paused. "Then again, he can be rather unpredictable, like when Inuyasha had turned youkai and was too wild for us to stop him. Was it not Sesshou-maru who knocked Inuyasha out of commission with out the intent of killing him?"   
  
     "Indeed," Sango answered. They both turned toward the shoji door when they heard a low mumble come from behind it and a short wail. "…She is in need of her Lord…" Sango muttered. "But I'm not if Sesshou-maru is right to watch over her…"   
  
     "Do not forget that Sesshou-maru is a lord. He has responsibility."   
  
     "If you say so," Sango muttered.   
  


**~*~**

  
     He would have stopped them. He would have. These chains refrained him from doing even the smallest thing. But when they came into a close vicinity at which he could strike, he was just about to.   
  
     And then something cold and tight clasped around his neck. He instantly reached for the thing wrapped about his neck, only to feel cold metal slide across his fingers. How did they have so much access to this rare material? He instantly struggled against the metal restraint, his neck beginning to pain him as the man (he had the other end of the object, similar to a leash, but solid instead of chained), shook the restraint about, harshly speaking some words.   
  
     The youkai didn't care about what was being said to him. He knew that he was being restrained against his will. His nails scratched about the floor and the wall almost wildly (almost), and the light in the room turned on fully, making him pause in his actions when he saw that there were more humans in the room than he'd thought.   
  
     What was this? Was this their means of attacking him? How vile…   
  
     "Hold still, you!" the man with the other end of the restraint said. He was just our of reach from Sesshou-maru. In reaction to his words, Sesshou-maru turned to the man with a deep glare set about in his eyes. Of course, that was the only part of his face that changed. Everything else was emotionless.   
  
     "Release this Sesshou-maru," Sesshou-maru ordered.   
  
     A few people noted his words.   
  
     "You can bring the equipment in now, Mukai-san," said the man holding the other end of the restraint. "Before it becomes more restless than it already is!"   
  
     A man pushing a table came into the room, gloves covering his hands. Was it that bastard Mukai? A low growl escaped from Sesshou-maru's lips and for just a few seconds, his eyes flashed red.   
  
     A few people noted his actions.   
  
     "Make it so he doesn't move," Mukai said, thus stating the fact that the specimen was indeed a male. "I don't wish to be maimed," he ended with a grin.   
  
     Another growl came from the youkai's lips, making him sound like a dog who was ready to attack. It was sudden, but the smallest hairs on his neck prickled upwards and a sense of danger flooded through him. The speed of his heart was accelerating because he just knew…his instints told him that he was in danger. _Sesshou-maru_…was in danger.   
  
     The process was rather slow and painful. He felt the restraint around his neck tightening to the point where it wasn't easy for him to breathe. When he opened his mouth to take in a breath of air, his eyes shut instantly as something rather painful ran through his whole body. It was worse then what'd happened to his arm before.   
  
     It felt like hot, fiery nails were trailing down his insides repeatedly. When he wanted to open his mouth to take in a breath of air, the restraint tightened even more, leaving him with no air to breathe.   
  
     It seemed like an eternity before the pain stopped and the restraint around his neck loosened again, leaving him laying on the ground on his back weakly. Short of breath, he was left giving soft whimpers, a sound that hadn't escaped from his lips for decades. It was easiest for him to breathe that way, anyway.   
  
     "His muscles are stable, Mukai sensei," said the man as he looked at the restraint for a reading (A/N: Just think of it as a rather advanced piece of technology…). "The shock emitted paralyzed his muscles."   
  
     Paralyzed?   
  
     He couldn't move a limb. Not a single one.   
  
     "Alright then," Mukai said as he fixed the glove on his hands and then turned to one of the syringes on the table. "Check his vital signs," he ordered.   
  
     Everyone stationed to do what they were supposed to walked over to the youkai and bent over him. He couldn't feel any fear surging from any of them.   
  
     "His blood pressure is as stable as it was yesterday," muttered one of the scientists.   
  
     "The pulse is the same as it was yesterday," said another.   
  
     A few seconds passed. "Brainwaves operating steadily," said the first.   
  
     "Alright, move now," Mukai said rather impatiently. He held the syringe in his hand and tested it before turning to the youkai and shooing the other scientists away. He bent down so that he was staring at the youkai. "You don't look so murderous now, do you, 'Sesshou-maru'?" he asked. "Who has the upperhand now?"   
  
     Sesshou-maru didn't give a response.   
  
     Why would he want to? Why would he want the human to know that he _did_ have the power? Why would he want the human to know that he was unsure of what would happen to him next? That he…he…   
  
     "Alright then. Get the time," Mukai said as he lifted the sleeve of Sesshou-maru's haori. He tapped at the inner part of the youkai's elbow a couple of times. It wasn't too hard to find a vein anyway, there were muscles galore on this specimen! He lowered shot and pierced it into the youkai's skin.   
  
     He pushed on the syringe until the clear yellow fluid was all inside of the blood. He pulled out the syringe.   
  
     "Shot administered at 6:42:32," said one of the scientist, making sure to note that time down.   
  
     "Out, everyone," Mukai ordered. "We don't know what sort of reaction he will have with that dosage."   
  
     They all walked out as if nothing had happened, walked up the stairs, and looked inside of the room Sesshou-maru was in. "Let's see what happens…" Mukai muttered with an excited grin on his lips.   
  
_ _   
  
  
Yaaaay~~ I finally got a chapter done! ^^ That took a while. ^^;; Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the Sesshi torture. *glares at some people* You're all evil, I tell you! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the update ^^; Next chapter will come out whenever I can have it come out *shrugs* Kay, please read my other stories. Life is Pain, Black Heart, and An Egg Full of Thorns! Go read them! >:O Review responses:   
  
  
_crystal singer: THANK YOU!! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! I LUV YOU! XD *honored*   
  
Vorsith: Yes, and since it doesn't seem like you're logged onto this website, may I have your email address so that whenever I update, I'm able to contact you to let you know? ^^.   
  
Yun Fei: No, no, Sesshou-maru belongs to EVERYBODY! ^^. But he's mainly mine :P Heehee~~   
  
Crystal Jewel: What sort of tortures, you ask? Hmm…I have VERY few that I'm sure of. But, that's where you guys come in! Give me ideas of torture (I suggest through email so that no one else will know what I might write about. Wouldn't want to ruin in for everyone, would ya?)   
  
RedHerring: Oops…sorry, then. He's already not feelin' to good in this chapter. How do you think he'll do until he is 'saved'?   
  
Spectrum: Heehee~~*hands Miroku over to you* ^^ There, now we're both happy. Yah, I'll have to agree that the scientists are rather stupid. One of them even suggested that he's a youkai, only to go back on her words (oh the idiot that she is…). You know, I was thinking about that Rin/Miroku part a lot. I think I want to add in a scene where he asks her to bear his child ^^. I want to so much! Actually, I will! *pumps fist*   
  
shina-schatten: Oooh~~welp, the scientists are gonna be so eviyul~~. "We torment you!" is their motto. Oh, thanks for actually visiting this website from TKP. I didn't think anyone actually would, but I think that you're the second person who's come from that website.   
  
StarryEyedChick: Yeah, Sesshou-maru needs to think just a bit more. Maybe his head'll burst if he does T_T   
  
Amreld: Well here's where you'll find no romance :D. That's right, something good doesn't have to have love in it! *everyone gasps* Thank you for commenting on my story, and I like your quote ^^ _  
  
  
Kay, that's it for review responses. Please go read my other stories~!~ I BEG YOU!! T_T You can read my two-chaptered one shot, My Elixer, and my chaptered stories, Life is Pain, Black Heart, and An Egg Full of Thorns. Pwease? I'll luv you all for eva if ya' do~~I really will!! XD *desperate*   
  
Please read…   
  
_Please read…_   
  
**Please read…**   
  
**_Please read…_** (and don't forget to review them! ^~v)   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Bring Him Back to Me

Um… I'm going to bump this fic up to a PG-13, kay? Just cuz I wanna play it safe @_@. By the way, the clean up crew had already come, and that's why Inuyasha couldn't find much of a trace of Sesshou-maru. And trust me, trust me, trust me, Sesshou-maru will be undergoing his torture (*cries*). Be patient. Anyway, on with the chapter. Kay, review responses are at the bottom.   
  
_ _   
  
  


**Water and Blood   
  
  
_Bring Him Back to Me_**

  
  
  
  
    Nothing at all had happened at first, and the scientists all stared out of the observation room with anticipation. But slowly it was dying down. It was becoming rather disappointing that nothing was happening. Did this mean that their experiment wasn't working on him? Because they had tried this on other animals. But it definitely didn't seem to work for him.   
  
     "…No changes or reaction after the shot was administered," Mukai muttered in dejection. This was rather anticlimactic. Another couple of given minutes passed.   
  
     "Wait…" Takana drawled. "Wait. Here, right here." He pointed to the screen. "Look at his blood pressure, it just went up a notch." He saw the blood pressure rise again, this time by two. Mukai looked over his shoulder and made a 'hmm' sound and crossed his arms. "It's taking a while longer, but everything is steadily rising."   
  
     "Mukai-san!" said one scientist. "His brainwaves are starting to go haywire. He might be regaining the use of his body."   
  
     "Yes…yes," Mukai said, almost sounding as if he was rubbing his hands together in a menacing tone. He fixed his glasses with a wide smile on his lips. "It's starting to work."   
  
  
    Sesshou-maru couldn't exactly feel anything yet, though, for the fact that he was still paralyzed. But still…there was with in…an inkling of _something_ that he couldn't fight that was building up as heat within him. It was for sure after a while that he was regaining the feelings in his numb body. The first thing that told him so was the pain in his chest. It sored.   
  
     And it also took away a good deal of ability to breathe. It was hard for him to catch a breath without the pain in his chest stabbing him. It was a rather involuntary act, but he slowly brought his prickling hand (like when a hand is numb and then you start to regain feelings) to his neck limply, trying to catch his breath. His mouth opened to a thin slit.   
  
     Not a single logical thought could pass through his mind right now. It was inevitable—he was starting to panic. This Sesshou-maru never had a reason to panic. But it could be justified, right? He had no clue of what had just been injected into him like some sort of scorpion. And if something bad did happen, he didn't have Tensusaiga at his side (as much as a bother that sword was). It would prove useful at a time like this.   
  
     It was sudden, but when he felt something hot and wet dribbling from his lips, he clearly wondered if he was salivating. This Sesshou-maru never salivated. But…he knew it couldn't be any clear liquid. He could faintly taste the difference…   
  
     It brought him to bring his fingers tips to glide over his lips gently. He took a quick look at his fingers and paused. The sight of that dark, red liquid—it usually never came from his own body—sent his eyebrows in a spiral upward. If not a few seconds later, his eyebrows turned downward when he felt something dripping from his nose. More?   
  
     His legs were now had a prickling sensation in them, and he knew that meant that he was able to move them. That compelled him to sit up. It was a rather indescreet act, but he wiped his mouth and nose with his haori. What other choice did he have? It wasn't as if water was at his hand right now.   
  
     A wave of lightheadedness shrouded him and he nearly lost his balance from that alone. This thing that was inside of him…it was doing this, wasn't it?   
  
     A sudden rush from his throat caused him to cover his mouth rather quickly. He could feel the blood seeping from inbetween his fingers. Maybe it was just him, but the room had definitely gone higher in temperature.   
  
  
    "…Mukai-san," Asako started. "…His reading are getting too high."   
  
     "No, no; he's fine," Mukai stated as he waved his hand in dismissal. "Let's give it a couple more minutes."   
  
     "But, Mukai-san, his body, it's over—"   
  
     "Quiet," Mukai yelled.   
  
     The scientists shut their mouths and looked at the window, watching as 'Sesshou-maru' covered his mouth and blood seeped from between his fingers.   
  
     Was this supposed to be happening? This didn't even happen when Mukai had tested it on other animals. Mukai's eyebrow cocked upward and he made another 'hmm' sound before bringing his hand to his chin. "Fine. Give him the antidote," Mukai said. He didn't expect this to happen this fast. "And don't forget to get a sampling of his blood.   
  
     He handed one of the doctors a syringe and sent him off along with the the scientist that had the restraint.   
  
  
    Sesshou-maru turned to the opening door instantly, removing his hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead of words coming forth, blood bubbled from his mouth. Right now, he was free, and so were his powers. He could attack. Which is, of course, what he did, out of self defense.   
  
     It was rather strange how _slow_ he had become. So slow, in fact, that the human was able to easily dogde his move—and clasp the restraint around his neck—_again_. His instant reaction was to put his hand between his neck and the restraint, but it tightened too quickly and he was once again left struggling for air to breathe. At this point, he lowered to his knees.   
  
     His hand then grasped _around_ the restraint as his famished lungs pleaded to be fed air. A small gasp escaped his lips when the retstraint further tightned, causing his pupils to dilate. With a quick and simple twist of his wrist, the man had the youkai laying on his side. If not a few seconds later, a painful jolt within the youkai made him go still out of shock. His hand fell limply infront of his face and gave a small twitch.   
  
     His vision blurring, he blinked a few times. He couldn't feel anything—_again_. What sort of viscious cycle were these humans setting?   
  
     His vision darkened and he grew quite tired. And…he was asleep.   
  
  
    "Mukai-san…" Asako started. "We've not had a reaction like that from our other experiments before."   
  
     "You're right," Mukai stated.   
  
     "…Did you put something in that syringe?" she asked.   
  
     "…Possibly," he started. "But that isn't your business. You are to record everything you see."   
  
     "Radioactivity…" she muttered. Mukai pretended to not hear her words.   
  


**~*~**

  
     "Inuyasha?" Kagome started. The hanyou had still been staring at the spot with an illegible look on his face. "What's wrong…?" she finally asked.   
  
     "Nothing's wrong," he answered. "Because I don't care." But Sesshou-maru's scent, the blood, and the scent of these humans as well put a sort of uneasiness within him.   
  
     'Of course you don't,' Kagome thought.   
  
     It's just the scent of so _many_ humans and the one scent of Sesshou-maru that bothered him. He shook off the feeling and turned to Kagome. "Come on," he started. "Let's go back to my time for now."   
  
     "But…but we just got here!" Kagome said. "At least give it another day, Inuyasha. We'll go back tomorrow night, but please just give it one more day."   
  
     "Fine," he muttered. "I'll bring you back home, then."   
  
     It was rather strange that he complied so easily, and Kagome took note of that. She turned over to look at him and stared at his profile for a while. His eyes were a bit sullied. He seemed slightly, _slightly _worried… 'Maybe because he knows what humans of this time are capable of doing…' she thought. "Alright." At that, she assumed the position on his back and the both of them took off.   
  


**~*~**

  
     "Aiii! Miroku-sama!!" Rin shrieked as she covered her head from Jaken's oncoming assults with the staff. All she had done earlier was sing a song about Sesshou-maru, but she didn't know _what _she had said to make Jaken react in such a way. The poor girl was crying right now.   
  
     "Rin no baka!! Shut up!" Jaken said, then pelted her on her head again. He would have given her a fifth if the staff hadn't been ripped from his hands. "Areh! Baka, who just—gah!!" And he now lay sprawled under someone's feet.   
  
     "Rin," Miroku started as he looked at the small girl. "Are you okay?" he asked. She was still sniffling and had now stuck onto the bottom of his clothes.   
  
     "Hai…" she drawled a bit.   
  
     "Get off me right now, you human!" Jaken said angrily, waving his hands about. "Rin is not yours for you to keep! She belongs to Sesshou-maru-sama!"   
  
     "You have no position to speak, youkai," Miroku said as he ground his foot into the disgusting youkai's head a bit. He swore he could feel the distinct crunching sound of scales, and he even had to supress a look of pure disgust. "Unless you would like to speak with my kazaana. You've seen what power it bestows upon me, no?"   
  
     "Areh!" Jaken pipped. What would happen to him here without his Sesshou-maru-sama to protect him?! "Get off!"   
  
     "Please let go of Jaken-sama, Miroku-sama…" Rin muttered after a few seconds. Her cheeks, now sticky, were still wet and rosy from her suppuration. She stared up at Miroku endearingly and the older teenager could do no less than comply with her words. "Arigatou…" she muttered.   
  
     Jaken scrambled to his feet and pointed a wary finger at her. "Why do you cry _now_?!" he asked. "I've hit you with the staff before and you have not reduced yourself to tears!"   
  
     "Because, Jaken-sama, you would never have hit me so hard so many times if Sesshou-maru-sama was here right now! You know he'd make you stop or hit you back. Just because Sesshou-maru-sama isn't here doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want!"   
  
     "Of course I can, you stupid, _stupid _child!" Jaken said, he would have waved his hand violently at her had Miroku not made a warning sound.   
  
     "No you can't!" she screamed back, a fresh stream of tears slowly undulating down her cheeks. "That means you don't care about what Sesshou-maru-sama says!"   
  
     And of course those words hit home. Jaken instantly lowered his arm and looked at her incredulously, as did Miroku. She was suprisingly smart for her youth in years. And so pure. The unsightly youkai instantly mumbled a few words before he stared at Rin again. He walked over to his staff and began to walk away.   
  
     "Ja—Jaken-sama! Where are you going?" Rin took a step towards him. "Gomen nasai! Rin didn't mean to yell at Jaken-sama!" she yelled back at him. She took another few light steps.   
  
     Pity welled within Miroku's stomache as he watched. That repulsive youkai didn't treat her well, did he? The girl had so much truth to her words and yet she had angered him? Absurd. "Rin," he started.   
  
     "No, no!" she said softly. "This is all wrong!" She turned to look at him. "Sesshou-maru-sama needs to come back so things will be the way they were before!"   
  
     "Rin-chan," he said softly, trying to quell the girl, "don't worry about Jerken—Jaken—" of course he'd messed up on purpose just to lighten the mood (and it didn't work well), "—doesn't care that much."   
  
     "No, no!" she said more forcefully. "Miroku-sama doesn't understand! Jaken-sama is afraid of losing Sesshou-maru-sama as Rin is. That's why Jaken-sama acts like this. You wouldn't understand!" She paused and put her hands to her mouth. At that, she took off in the opposite direction that the youkai had gone and went into the forest.   
  
     "Rin! Rin!" Miroku yelled. "Ugh…" he muttered. He went back to the hut, knowing that the girl would be careful in the forest.   
  
  
    And three hours later when the sun was settling and she wasn't back, Sango started to worry. "Houshi-sama," she started, "where's the little girl?"   
  
     "Miroku probably scared her off by asking her to bear his child," Shippou said, then looked at the monk warily.   
  
     "She ran off into the forest earlier after yelling at me," he answered. "I thought she only went to vent off her anger, but she's not back yet…" But now that he thought about, she wasn't angry, she was afraid, and he knew it.   
  
     "…I think we should go to find her," Sango said as she stood.   
  
     "Me too!" Shippou shouted.   
  
     "Come o—"   
  
     "Waaiii! Sesshou-maru-sama!!" they heard a high-pitched scream which could have only belonged to the girl. She had a voice on her.   
  
     "Let's go!"   
  
     They ran into the forest for some length of time, hearing the scream again after a while. Picking up their pace and following Kirara, it wasn't long until they had found her.   
  
     She was pressed against a rock and a small amount of youkai were closing in upon her. "Help me!" she screamed, but she couldn't see her help. When she saw a youkai just about to pounce on her, she fell on her behind and covered her eyes, shaking with tears. "Sesshou-maru-sama!" she yelled for the last time, as if yelling his name would bring him back.   
  
     And then she felt something splattering on her.   
  
     "Hiraikotsu!" and then: "Get the girl, go get her, houshi-sama! I'll handle the youkai!" and then: "Kitsune bi!" "I can't take them all, Miroku! There are too many! Waai!" "Ugh…Kazaana!"   
  
     She finally opened her eyes when she heard and felt the gusting winds flying about her. Feeling as if she was being pulled in a direction, she let out another wail. Why, when her Lord wasn't with her, did all of these youkai come for her? She turned her head in a certain direction and saw the houshi…with winds _sucking _everything that got in his _hand's_ way. 'Nani…?' After everything was gone, every youkai, he closed it up and bound it with his prayer beads. She let out a frightened sound as he took a few quick steps toward her.   
  
     "Rin," Sango said. "Are you okay?"   
  
     The girl further shrank back as Miroku stood infront of her and bent down. "No, no, no…" she said softly as she once again covered her eyes. "Don't take me, too…"   
  
     Miroku drew back a little. "…It's okay, Rin-chan," he said softly. "As long as it's covered you won't be hurt. Besides, I wouldn't do that to you…" The poor girl was afraid of him? He held his hand out toward her and she visibly paled, drawing back.   
  
     "No, no, no…" She was reduced to tears this time.   
  
     "Houshi-sama…maybe we should take her instead…" Sango suggested.   
  
     "Sango, as long as she is with us, she'll have to trust us all. And that includes me as well," he said firmly, not even taking time to look back at her. To Rin: "You can trust me, Rin," he said in all seriousness.   
  
     "…You…won't hurt me?" Rin asked after a few seconds, looking up at him.   
  
     He gave her a short smile, and at that, she gave a shiver from the cold, taking his hand. With tears still in her eyes, she allowed the houshi to pick her up from the ground. Wrapping her arms slightly around his neck for support, they started walking.   
  
     The tears were still there.   
  
     "Please bring him back to me," she said. She dearly wanted her Lord back with her. As much as she liked these people, she loved her Lord. And she desperately needed him.   
  
     "We will," Sango said with a soft smile. She looked at the scene before her. They way Miroku had handled her was of seriousness and gentleness. She'd really not seen him this way before. The scene alone looked so right, as if Miroku was an older brother quelling his baby sister from her nightmares.   
  
  
    "So why did you leave in the first place?" Sango asked the girl. They were back in the hut now.   
  
     "Rin is sorry," she said softly. "Rin didn't mean to worry you…"   
  
     "It's fine, don't worry about it," Sango said.   
  
     "After Rin had yelled at Miroku-sama, Rin went into the forest to think about what Rin had said." She looked up at Miroku. "Gomen nasai, Miroku-sama," she said sadly, as if she was in big trouble. "And gomen nasai again, because after Rin thought about what Rin had said, Rin went to get Miroku-sama flowers so that Miroku-sama wouldn't be angry with Rin, but the youkai scared Rin…"   
  
     How endearing.   
  
     She was so very pure. So what exactly was she doing with Sesshou-maru? It wasn't as if she had the mental capacity to know how dangerous he was.   
  
     Or maybe that was it. Maybe she knew how dangerous he wasn't.   
  
     "I am fine, Rin," Miroku stated. "You didn't have to do that."   
  
     "Go to sleep, Rin," Sango said as she softly tucked in the girl.   
  
     "Hai…" she drawled, turning to her side so her back was to everyone.   
  
     The look of sadness in her eyes was too much for them to bear. That was when they noted it: it was necessary to retrieve Sesshou-maru for her.   
  


**~*~**

  
     Sesshou-maru's wake was practically sudden, a sick feeling welling from within his stomache. He gave a look around, only to see darkness in his wake. Oh yes. The humans…the future. He'd thought it was all a dream. Then again…he didn't sleep, nonetheless dream often.   
  
     With the sick feeling in his stomache came wariness. It took him a while to think about what had awakened him. Until he had realized that he could practically feel the danger…and fear.   
  
     That Rin was in. He let out a curse. Where was she? Where had she gone after he'd gone through the well and crossed over time? It actually urked him that he thought about her. For sure it didn't mean that he worried for her…   
  
     As the feeling slowly ebbed from the pit of his stomache, a few thoughts came to him. Hw would he escape from this place? How long, now, had he been here?   
  
     As hours had drawn by since he'd been caught thoughts of being able to leave were slowly diminishing. He knew he was caught, entrapped, with new surroundings. Surroundings that he didn't feel quite comfortable of. This continuous darkness was leaving him with too much time for contemplation. And these chains around his hand and feet were bothersome.   
  
     He hated this. Very much so.   
  
     And he most hated the fact that he had no control, none, over these humans at all. It was a disgusting feeling. And not only that, but they had managed to take his swords, among them being his healing sword. He felt even more disgusted that he needed the aid of Tensusaiga, because he didn't feel his body mending after these scientists would perform these…absurd actions against him.   
  
     Just the thought alone sent anger reeling through him. Before he knew what he was doing, he had tightened his hand to a fist, controlling with his might the acid that wanted to seep from his fingers.   
  
     The action sent a surge of electric energy through his arm, more severe and trailing farther than it had before, lasting longer. The light crackled around him, and he clenched his teeth. It was painful. Each time it happened, it was more painful than the last time. As if it was some sort of warning for him.   
  
     And he hated it. It hurt him.   
  


**~*~**

  
     Kagome turned on the t.v. after she'd taken her bath so that she could watch television. Inuyasha was in the eating room, feasting on some more ramen ravenously. Flipping through the channels in boredum she finally left the channel at the local news.   
  
     And then something caught her attention.   
  
     "_We have very few reports on the attack the other day that left a total of 18 people dead. In this scene right here—_" the person pointed behind him, "_—there was a massacre of 17 people by one man in a matter of moments. Thought few people actually saw him, they said that he was, and I quote, 'too fast for our eyes to catch his tall figure'. The police were called moments after his violence had erupted, and now one of these good men is dead._"   
  
     By now, Inuyasha had walked into the room and was closely staring at the television as he'd done when he had first seen the contraption.   
  
     "_People say that after they'd fled the scene, they don't know what exactly happened to the man. And I quote, 'I heard many gunshots erupting, but I had turned the corner and was too afraid to look at what happened. And then all the sudden the man was in the air, I could see him from where I was, higher than the building that I stood next to! There was some blood on him where he'd been shot so many times, and even something in his neck. It wasn't long until he plummeted to the ground. After that, no one knows what happened._'"   
  
     Kagome stared at the television incredulously. She stared in horror, actually. If she'd heard right, then she knew what had happened.   
  
     "I don't understand…" Inuyasha said.   
  
     "Shh!" Kagome whispered angrily, staring back at the screen.   
  
     "_That's all that we have found, though. As soon as more information is distilled, then we are left to wonder what happened. I suggest that we all lock our doors and windows for the time being. We don't know if he is still out there. Back to you, Takeda-san._"   
  
     The t.v. was turned off.   
  
     "I don't understand," Inuyasha started again. "What are they saying? What are they coming to? Why was he bleeding?"   
  
     Inuyasha obviously didn't know what a gun or a gunshot was, and Kagome wasn't prepared to speak about it. "Inuyasha," Kagome started, "I think that what they are trying to say is that Sesshou-maru has been caught…"   
  
     "Nani?" he said as he stared ar her. The look on her face didn't bode well.   
  
     "Listen…for now, let's just go back to your time," she said. Because they already knew enough about what had happened to Sesshou-maru. But this was very bad.   
  
     "But I thought—" he started.   
  
     "Inuyasha…let's just go for now…We'll be back."   
  
     "Fine," he muttered.   
  
_ _   
  
  
My, my; this story is taking a turn for the worst -_-;; Poor Sesshou-maru. *cries and hugs him* The pain I must inflicit on him…nuuu~~ Kay, I'd like you guys to know that even though this story is a torture story, my mind won't come up with all sorts of torture. So, if need be, e-mail me and give me some ideas. They're very welcome, and I've already incorporated one of your fellow reviewer's ideas into my story. Ideas are VERY welcome. Give them to me ~_~. Kay, review responses *screams at the number of reviews*:   
  
  
_Yun Fei: Gomen ne, Yun Fei. This story's centered around the scientific torture and there's no way to get around it while the plot is developing. But now that Kagome has an idea of what has happened to Sess, the plot will be moving a bit quicker. And I updated, see?   
  
Crystal Jewel: What did they do? You read it. Scientists aren't that bad, though. It's just some of the things that they perform that are objectable. And trust me, I'm very happy that you've put me in your favourite list!   
  
atlas-86: Waai~! *glomps you* Thank you for reading!! Don't worry for not reviewing, I haven't been updating that quickly for the same reason that you don't review. Life is hard, and my junior year is even harder T_T   
  
StarryEyedChick: Yah…you read what they injected in him. *sighs* Poor Sess, people laugh at his torture…   
  
Vorsith: Hehe. You're a psychic >_> Don't worry, that's and inside joke I have with my friend. And *sighs* how did you like the Jaken 'bashing'? I personally don't hate him, so I can't be so mean to him :\. So plea no longer, for we shall see the torture, the scientists get theirs, and what not. It may be slow, but it will come. Wahaha~   
  
crystal singer: Actually, the clean up crew's already come. That and…Rin's actions are going to be quite sporadic… *writes down your review for an idea* Yaaay~~   
  
Madame Arrow Foxfire: Am I really? Heh…wait till I start getting dark >_>   
  
k: Thank you.   
  
Infernale: Yah, poor Sess. I'm trying to keep everyone in character. It's actually very hard.   
  
Lord Fluffy: I will finish it eventually. Hehe~You'll know exactly what happens, and thank you for telling me about my writing ^-^   
  
holyfree: Really, you like his torture? *cries* WHY?! Haha~I didn't intend for the fluffy part to be that humourous.   
  
Tsume Yamagata: Of course they'll get what's coming to them. All in time.   
  
Darkfox: Thank you. Yes, the scientists ARE mean, and they will get what's coming to them.  
  
marnika: I'm actually not going to reveal the answer to your questions. That's gonna be shown in later chapters. I'm glad you asked though, because the scientists ARE doing this for a reason. As for him becoming crazed…hmm…*writes that down* >:D   
  
Kitsune Bi123: What an adorable name…@_@. Nihao! Hey…that's Chinese, no? Hehe~ You're reading another fiction of mine? Which one?   
  
Crimson Yokai Angel: I'm updating right now. More torture for you. >:D_   
  
  
And that was all the reviews for now. Hehe~so many reviews. I feel so honoured @_@ Please feel free to gimme ideas, read my other stories, and most of all…review~~ ^-^v. Ja matta, minna.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Truths

**A/N**: Thank you all for being so patient with me, you guys! Your reviews were lovely and encouraging! You guys make me so happy to be a fanfic writer where my reviewers care! I mean it! I love you all! Thank you SOOO much. What you've all been waiting for! I spent a REALLY long time writing this chapter so that it's perfect to a T XD. 

And now I present chapter 6!! *haaaah haaaaaah* The crowd goes wild! 

  
–   
  


**Water and Blood   
  
~   
  
Chapter Six: _Truths_   
  
** ~

     Kagome climbed out of the well and looked in it quickly to see if Inuyasha was alright. She made sure to pack a lot of things with her this time…She could hear him cursing foully as he tried climbing up the well while carrying her bright yellow backpack. "You okay down there?" she asked. 

     "Kami-sama, Kagome, do you put rocks in this blasted bag?" he asked, staring up at her whilst he climbed upward. 

     She rolled her eyes at the question. "I might as well, it's so heavy," she muttered under her breath. She laughed weakly as Inuyasha threw a glare over at her from her statement. Peeling her eyes away from him, she looked around for a few seconds to see if anything had changed. Of course nothing had changed, though! It'd only been _three_ days (they left for the next morning). 

     But everything felt so different now. Now she knew what circumstances had been thrown at her. She knew what happened to Sesshoumaru, or at least she had some inkling of what happened to him. That was only half of the solution though. The other two aspects of the situation: She had no clue of where he was located at the moment. And if—no, _when_ they find him, how will they help him successfully escape without being caught again? 

     She gave a deep sigh, looking down at the yellow summer dress and blue sweater she was wearing, despite the timing of the year. She twiddled her finger with a lose string, then gave a sigh of annoyance. She let out a sound of frustration as she sat down by the well. Just thinking about this situation was far too much for her mind to take! She had school to worry about! Entrance exams! Other tests! Her family! The shards to find! _Naraku_ to find! 

     She couldn't worry about _Sesshoumaru_ right now! It was too stressful. "Rah!" she screamed desperately as she put her head in her hands. 

     Inuyasha stared at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Oi, Kagome, let's go," he stated, putting her backpack over his shoulders. 

     "What?" she asked as she looked at him with a lost look in her eyes. It was rather amusing, seeing her confused as this. 

     "Let's go to the village, Kagome!" he screamed. 

     She stood up instantly, wiping the dirt from her dress. "Right," she muttered. She followed after him, staring at him deeply. 'I really can't help but wonder…how Inuyasha feels about this. I mean…if he's worried even the smallest bit, he can sure feign a good mask…' Kagome knew how much Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha absolutely loathed each other with the deepest bowels of Hell's passion. 

     But it just always seemed as if the two of them—yes, even Sesshoumaru—only wore a mask of lies. They really don't hate each other as much as they made it seem. They hate each other, yes, but she doubted that it is detestation to the point of wanting to kill each other. After all, Sesshoumaru wouldn't have knocked Inuyasha out that one time when he'd turned full youkai if he didn't have a small ounce of love for him, right? Or at least protection? Ugh…confusion abound. [youkai=demon] 

     'They wouldn't have helped each other out when the neko clan tried to make dust out of the two of them. It must mean _something_…' Kagome thought. 'I mean…maybe if I hit home…or at least somewhere _close_ to home…I can get more cooperation out of Inuyasha. He seems as if he doesn't want to do this at all…but when I really think about it…he almost seems…vexed or upset _minutely_ by the situation.' [neko=cat] 

     Inuyasha interrupted her soliloquy of thoughts. "Oi, Kagome," he started with a snarl in his voice, "quit dragging your feet and start walking!" [Oi=Hey!] 

     Kagome rolled her eyes at the statement and picked up the pace. "Never mind," she muttered. 

     "What?" He asked threateningly. 

     "Nothing," she answered back. She smiled with the village in view now. It was instant that her smile turned to a frown. She was thinking about the little girl, Rin. 'What do I tell her…?' she thought. "Inuyasha…?" Kagome started. She took a quick jog to catch up to him. 

     "Hm?" he asked. He seemed deeply thrown into his own thoughts as well! 

     "…How do you think she'll react?" she asked, looking straight at him. 

     "She who?" he returned. 

     "The girl that follows Sesshoumaru…, Rin." 

     "I don't know. Let's just hope that she doesn't cry or anything of the sort. I can't deal with that right now. Besides, what are you going to tell her, anyway?" His voice wasn't in that harsh, sarcastic tone that he usually spoke with at all. And his eyes even seemed to have mellowed a bit. He spoke almost…empathetically…as if he felt sorry for the girl. It was actually endearing. 

     Kagome could tell: Inuyasha liked the little girl. The thought put a small smile on her face. 

     "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you, Kagome," Inuyasha started. "Why is it that you wanted to come back here? What did that box thing tell you?" 

     Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but then the wind was knocked out of her as she was thrown onto the ground. "Kagome! Kagome! Kagome!" the high pitched assailant screamed. 

     Ah. Shippou. 

     "Shippou…" Inuyasha muttered angrily as he grabbed the kitsune by his tail. "You little…" 

     "Kagome-chan!" a faraway voice screamed amiably, one hand waving and the other hand with hiraikotsu in it's grip. Sango. 

     Kagome stood up and dusted herself off once again, then waved back at her friend. "Sango-chan!" she called back. She was about to run over to her friend when she heard a very loud _pap_ and then a chortled scream erupt from the distance. Where…did the weapon go…? She sweat dropped. Miroku. 

     "Come on, Inuyasha," Kagome said as she grabbed onto the sleeve of his haori and dragged him to the village, Shippou perched on her shoulder already. 

     "I'm comin', I'm comin'," he drawled, hauling the backpack once again and rolling his eyes. 

  
     When everyone finally met up, Kagome looked around for a couple of seconds before cocking her eyebrow. "Sango…Miroku…" she started, "where's Rin?" 

     There was quiet for a couple of seconds. "Sort of strange that you ask, Kagome-sama," Miroku said with a frown on his face. 

     Kagome looked at their expressions and instantly became worried. "What did you guys do to her?!" she asked. 

     "Relax, Kagome-chan," Sango said as she put her hand on Kagome arm. "There's no need to be worried about Rin-chan's safety. She's smug where she is." 

     "As for where she is located at the time being," Miroku started, "she's inside of the hut. She won't come out at all." 

     "What'd ya' guys do to the brat?" Inuyasha asked as he walked toward Kaede's hut and dropped the backpack at the entrance. 

     "It's not exactly what we did," Shippou said as he stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha. The hanyou gave him a rude gesture with his hand. "Waai~! Kagome! Inuyasha just cursed at me!" he wailed. [hanyou=half demon] 

     "Inuyasha," Kagome started. The hanyou instantly wilted from her voice. "Don't make me say it!" she threatened. 

     "Hm." He simply rolled his eyes. Shippou blew him a raspberry. "You little brat! I should shave off your tail right now!" 

     "Osuwari!" 

     "Nyah!" 

  
     Rin pulled herself away from the entrance of the hut after she'd stolen a glance outside. Sesshoumaru wasn't there. Nothing was fine if Sesshoumaru wasn't here; no one could be happy. They couldn't possibly understand her! She was young and naïve, yes, but she actually knew what she was talking about when she spoke of her lord. 

     They don't love him like she does. It was as simple as that. Sure, she had seen Sesshoumaru kill youkai, she'd seen him picking the remains of someone dead, she'd even once seen him licking his blood-drenched fingers! But that didn't mean anything. It meant nothing. She had never seen him take the life of a human yet. Especially because she knows that he hates humans so much. Jaken can attest to that. 

     He had a hard exterior that a thousand words couldn't chafe away. His emotions were a dark, black abyss that bore no light. He was like the base of a dojo, continuing to put up with the pressure put on his shoulders without ever coming to the point where everything was enough. He was a tacit man who, if spoken to, would make any person feel like they were the darkest dirt on the ground, like an unworthy person. [dojo=a living quarter] 

     He never talked to her like that. His mood even lightened when she was around, she knew! His stoic expressions would give her something, just the smallest movement. She was granted that favor everyday that she set her young, lovely eyes upon him. 

     When a cold night came by (it was actually very rare), she and she alone was given the grandeur to sit by him and wrap his pelt around her to keep herself warm. She alone was given the privilege to have actual conversation with him, though it only happened once. He was hers. She was his. She loved him. Words didn't have to tell her that he had the same inkling toward her. He protects her out of love, so it needn't be spoken. 

     While Rin's mind took in all the thoughts, she didn't realize that she started to cry. Her cheeks felt boiled in the warm salt water. But this was the worst feeling she had ever experienced, save the fact that her family died before her eyes. It was distressing. 

     "Sesshoumaru-sama…" she muttered softly, her voice fleeing quickly as a soft mewl followed. She covered her eyes with her fisted hands after she'd dropped to the floor. She shook herself lightly in order to comfort herself. What she would do right now if Jaken were here at this moment! She coughed out another sob as she muttered his name again. 

     She wanted him back with her so desperately. She missed him. She choked up another mewl, her crying now loud. 

     She let out a soft scream when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Lifting her head up and drying her eyes, she saw the future girl standing there. Kagome. "Ka—Kagome-sama…" Rin muttered. Her frown suddenly turned into a smile; that cute, bright smile of hers. If Kagome was in here with such a smile, that meant Sesshoumaru-sama was, too! Maybe she just didn't see him before. She stood up instantly. "Kagome-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama is here??" she asked anxiously. She ran to the opening. 

     "Rin," Kagome started, stopping the girl from her movements. "…Rin…Sesshoumaru isn't…here right now." 

     "Then…why are you here, Kagome-sama? Did you find Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked fervently. 

     Kagome hated seeing Rin like that. She liked it when the girl smiled, not when she had tears in her eyes. "…Gomen ne, honto ni, Rin…" Kagome said. "…We haven't found Sesshoumaru yet." [I'm truly sorry…] 

     "No…" she muttered softly. She looked at Kagome, her eyes tearing up again. "Miroku-sama!" she suddenly yelled. It sent Kagome through confusion. Why did she need Miroku? "Miroku-sama!" she screamed again, crying his name. 

     Kagome looked at Miroku in confusion as he stepped inside of the hut. "Ee, ee, Rin-chan," he said as he stood there. He gave a smile to Kagome, as if saying 'watch this'. [ee=yes] 

     Her eyes widened as the girl locked herself to Miroku's leg harshly, nearly knocking him over. 'What's going on here?!' she wondered in bewilderment. "…Should I leave?" she asked without thinking about the question. 

     Miroku shrugged, sitting down and allowing the girl to stick onto him. Kagome got up instantly, walking out the hut. 

     Sango was standing outside of the hut with her hand over her mouth as she giggled. "Sango-chan…what's so funny?" she asked. Sango gave a short laugh. "What's going on?" 

     As soon as Sango had calmed herself, she spoke. "It's rather charming and cute, actually," she stated. 

     "What's going on?!" Inuyasha finally asked. This situation was just…ugh…weird. 

     "The girl, Rin, seems to have some sort of liking to Houshi-sama. She either doesn't leave the hut, doesn't talk to anyone, or sticks very, very close to Houshi-sama," Sango said. 

     They heard Rin's young laughter from inside of the hut, and Miroku's small snickers. 

     "…Oh…I see…" Kagome muttered. Inuyasha just had his eyebrow cocked. 

     "Keh, cute she says…" he muttered to himself. "That's disturbing if you ask me!" 

     A loud _pap_ came from inside of the hut. No he did_ not_…To a little girl?! 

     Miroku stepped out with a small hand mark on cheek. Rin ran toward the entrance after him, a look of horror on her face. "Gomen ne, Miroku-sama!" she screamed. "Sango-sama told Rin that if you said anything weird to Rin about bearing children that Rin should slap you! Rin didn't mean to hurt you!" 

     "It's fine, it's fine," Miroku said with a few waves of his hand. "Just go back inside if you please." He turned back to the group to see everyone glaring deeply at him after she sadly went back into the hut. "…What?" he asked. 

     "She's a little girl, Miroku!" Kagome screamed as she latched onto his neck. 

     "I didn't ask her anything!" he yelled in defense. 

     "I'm so very sure!" Kagome said, still strangling him. No one pulled her away. He deserved it! 

     "I only said something that mentioned bearing children, but I wasn't talking about her!" he cried. 

     "…Really?" Kagome said as she took her hands from around his neck. 

     Miroku put his hands around his neck to survey the damage done to him. He cursed at Kagome. "I only told her that she gave me a good reason to have children. Sango warped her mind into thinking that everything I say is something dangerous!" 

     He really said that to Rin? That was…_disgustingly_ cute. 

     "Miroku!" Kagome said, latching onto him again. 

     "Gah! What, woman?!" he asked, trying to wrench her away. This time both Sango and Inuyasha pulled Kagome away from him. His hand was starting to trail down her back side. 

     "That's the cutest thing I've ever heard you say!" Kagome said. 

     Miroku glared at her. After a while of everyone settling down, Miroku spoke up. "Kagome-sama…what is it that brings you back here, anyway?" he asked. 

     "Chh! I asked her the same question, the wench," Inyasha said. 

     "Ano…" Kagome started, suddenly finding the rocks at her feet very intriguing. "Well…I at least have a feeling of what happened to Sesshoumaru…" she said. "…As for where he is, he could really be anywhere in Japan. I just wanted you to know…that it might take a while to find him. I don't like the idea of what I heard happened to him after he killed so many people—" 

     "He killed some people?!" Sango asked. 

     "Well, yes," Kagome answered. "But…knowing Sesshoumaru as minutely as I do, I doubt he would just kill humans unless provoked." 

     "That was the point of you coming here?" Inuyasha asked dully. 

     "…Yes…pretty much," she answered. She then looked over at the bright yellow back pack by Kaede's hut. "Also, I figured that since it might be a while…I got some things for you guys, you know, snacks and what not—" 

     "And candy??" Shippou asked, tugging at the collar of her sweater. 

     "Yes, candy, too," she answered with a smile. "I also brought some toys for you to entertain Rin with. You know…just so that she feels more…prone to speak to you. Just so that she's more comfortable…" 

     "I see. A very wise idea, Kagome-sama," Miroku said with a slight nod. "Are you going to be going back now?" he asked. 

     "Not now, but soon; maybe in an hour or two. I just want to relax for now." She started kicking around a few rocks. "By the way, where's Jerken?" she asked. 

     "Oh, he fled early yesterday and hasn't come back, thank kami-sama," Miroku answered. 

     "Why?" 

     "Some sort of dispute between Rin and him." 

     "Oh…I see. Well, anyway, I feel like going to a hot spring to relax for a while. Sango, would you like to accompany me? Alone? Kirara, too? And Shippou, if you would so like?" 

     "Sure, Kagome-chan," Sango answered with a smile. 

     "Yay! Hot spring!" Shippou yelled. 

     Inuyasha held Miroku back from following the two girls. 

-

     He was awake this time. He'd been awake for some time, though. He didn't know how long. All this time, there was only one thought so deeply ebbed in his mind that he couldn't sleep even if he wanted to: escape. He needed to escape this place. None of these experiments they performed on him bode him well. 

     He didn't even know what they were coming at. But he knew that it couldn't be anything good. 

     His eyes switched from his chained wrist to the door as it opened and a small amount of light flooded in the room. If not seconds later, the light turned on to full blast, making him nearly hiss as he covered his eyes. His ears gave a light twitch as he heard the foot steps coming toward him. 

     What had they in store fore him now? Slightly lifting his arm from his eyes, he blinked a few times to adjust to the light. The footsteps stopped in front of him and he removed his arm, sitting as astutely as possible. 

     "You're such a fine specimen…_Sesshoumaru_..." the old bastard said. Sesshoumaru remained quiet. "Tell me, where are you from?" 

     Silence ensued after the question was asked. Sesshoumaru glared at him deeply, biting back the growl that softly came from his lips. He was giving the old man a warning… 

     "Be cooperative with me, Sesshoumaru," Mukai said as he shuffled himself so that he could sit comfortably in front of Sesshoumaru, but just out of reach of danger. "Doing what you are told will result in the least pain possible." He let off a smile after the comment to seem innocent. "Once again…where are you from?" 

     Sesshoumaru would not debase himself to comply to an order given to him. He was now the heir of his father's throne. He answers to no one. He remained silent, a noble look taking over him. 

     "Do as you wish," Mukai said with a sigh, as if he felt bad about what he was about to do. He took out a small black box from his pocket and pressed the red button on the electric device. Sesshoumaru simply glared at the man as nothing happened at first. Something metallic _clanked_ at his side against the wall. He didn't avert his eyes from the old man. 

     Mukai then stood up from where he was seated and walked right in front of Sesshoumaru. Save, he had nothing to fear. Nothing could happen to him. He then grabbed the metal device, and then tightened it around Sesshoumaru's neck. The inu-youkai was unable to make a single move. It was as if he was momentarily paralyzed again. 

     Mukai then sat infront of him again, another sigh leaving his lips. "Concequence one for not being cooperative with me, _Sesshoumaru_," he said. Sesshoumaru deepened his glare, finding himself able to move again. The old man rubbed the black electric device for a few seconds before looking at the youkai again. He fingered the blue button for a few seconds, playing with the time he had. It was sudden that he pressed the button. 

     Sesshoumaru really didn't feel anything at first. He only felt a prickling sensation where the device was placed. His eyes widened suddenly and he clenched at the device fervently. A few spikes stuck into his neck and blood poured instantly from the thick wounds. If not to make the situation worse, each spike had jagged edges on it, meant to tear flesh if the spikes were retracted. The device even so tightened around his neck, driving the spikes in deeper. 

     He arched his back forward in a weak attempt to quell the torture. Proving to actually make the situation worse, he remained still for a few seconds to see if that position would dimmer the pain. It did well. He clenched his eyes tightly as he took in a few breaths with much difficulty, sticking his fingers between his skin and the device to give his neck more access to space. The sharp spikes tore at the skin on his fingers, making them bleed. As the spikes retracted, more flesh tore. 

     Finally relieved from the torture, he breathed deeply. 

     "Now," Mukai started, "answer my question. Where are you from?" 

     Sesshoumaru straightened and threw the old man a glare again. He'd gone through worse. He remained quiet. 

     "Still won't answer?" he asked. There was no response. "…No. I see." He pressed the button again. 

     Spikes came from different places this time. Sesshoumaru only flinched from the pain, but kept his glare stuck on the old man. His eyebrows furrowed a bit, but that was as far as his movements went. 

     "You're so defiant, Sesshoumaru…" the man muttered. "This arrogance of yours—it will eventually lead to your downfall." 'New question…' he thought. "Tell me, then, if you were sent from anyone. How old you are." The man suddenly let out a curse from the quiet. "Anything would suffice!" he yelled angrily. 

     Sesshoumaru enjoyed the man's frustration. It, in fact, put a smirk on his lips. 

     The old man then pressed a green button, sending the spikes twisting as they surged with electricity. Sesshoumaru's mouth hung slightly open as his eyes widened (similar to the way he looked when Rin had come to life). He once again grabbed at the collar, the smallest sound of pain eliciting from his mouth. He clenched his eyes tightly, spitting out blood at the same time. 

     It seemed as if the voltage had turned several notches higher, making his body spasm with every few jolts of electricity. In order to hold in his scream, he clenched his teeth tightly, then opening his mouth as a large amount of blood poured from it. 

     The pain ceased instantly, leaving Sesshoumaru breathing deeply with a small sound erupting from his mouth occasionally. His body gave involuntary convulsions intermittingly. 

     The old scientist waited for Sesshoumaru to settle down a bit. When time felt right, he started again. "What have you to tell me?" he asked. 

     A sound came from Sesshoumaru's mouth as if he was about to speak. It elicited excitement from the old man. 

     "Speak," he muttered. 

     Sesshoumaru then looked at him and glared. "This youkai…, Sesshoumaru will not succumb to your…questioning." 

     Set back. 

     Wait…did he just hear correctly? He could have sworn that Sesshoumaru called himself a youkai. "You…kai?" he asked with wide eyes. 

     And he couldn't really deny it, either. Sesshoumaru was tall, he had the strange markings, his DNA was different, the natural eye colour, the hair. 

     "Ka—kami-sama!!" Mukai stood up as he screamed. He seemed frustrated with himself. All this time he had this youkai and he didn't know?! What a great find! This could be the best thing that has happened to man! He walked off, muttering some things to himself. The door opened, he walked out, and it closed again. 

     It dawned on Sesshoumaru that telling the bastard what he'd just said wouldn't improve his situation any. He'd just dug himself deeper into the abyss of the future. 

     The human was unintentionally wise. The wounds at his neck were harsh; if touched he could feel the charred edges of skin, sending him to shiver lightly. Where the wounds were, he wouldn't be able to lick them to heal as quickly as they could. They would leave a mark until his skin was totally recuperated. 

     The lights dimmed, as did his _hopes_ of escaping. 

  
     "It's impossible!" screamed Asako. "He can't be! They don't exist. You said so yourself!" 

     "Given the circumstances, Asako, I can easily believe him. Look at him! Look at what he is able to withstand!" 

     The room was filled with silence as interested glances were exchanged. 

     This situation had just turned more interesting for them. 

     "Change the tests," Mukai finally said. "Change _everything_. I want to do something later on this afternoon with our youkai. Some different…more intense tests…Project 'Fluffy' will commence…" (A/N: Don't…laugh…>_>) 

     "Ah…I see," Takana said as he wrote down everything that had just transpired. He had a wild smile on his face, as if he knew exactly what the older scientist was talking about. 

– 

**A/N**: And boy do they have something in store for our lovely Sesshoumaru. A few things, actually >:O. Enjoying so far? I hope so >_> *muttering* Evil masochists… Anyway :D, I tried making this as long as possible without ruining everything for the next chappiture. I just love Rin and Miroku's relationship. Tis very cute, that 't is. Oh, oh! Here's a way to get me to update faster: Help me with more ideas. Just only a few more. Because there are about 6 more chapters, and hopefully no more!! Thinking up ideas for torture for you masochists and good plot developments for you plot people isn't all that easy as it seems. So join this story and help me out >:D. Be a part of the evil! >:D Kay, review responses.   
  
_ shina-schatten: Aren't you really? I'm glad too. Her finding out later would result in me making this story longer >_>. Anyway, that's a very good idea you have there, and I was really going on the lines of that. You'll see how the next chapter relates to this suggestion, actually. >:D _

Vorsith: Yes! I was back >:D. Note: Was. Not am. ~_~ Hehe~ A commando team XD. Vassshhh~~ Gah! I like Legato better :P. And actually, I have nothing against Jaken. As for the Shichinin-tai…Um…I saw the episodes with them in it. I love the Shichinin-tai >_>. Especially Jakotsu, Suikotsu, and Bankotsu. I mean…I cried when those three died. I really did T_T. And as for Kikyou. I'm not a Kikyou hater. I'm actually a Kikyou luver. I like her more than I like Kagome. Kikyou is awesome, and I felt like crying when she died…again. But for real this time. *sighs*. And finally, Naraku. Hmm…He's a bastard. A sexy bastard >:D. I can't resist liking him. He's just awesome. HE'S SO UNDERHANDED AND SMART AND HE'S LOVERLY! 

turbo: Well I'm glad you like my story :D. I'll email you, dun worry :D. 

DragonmageShizuka: Hmm… I'm a giant Sesshoumaru fan, too. He's my pimp husband >:X. But actually, you can't say that his 'fluff' is his tail. I actually just call it a pelt. Takahashi-sama hasn't revealed exactly what it is, though. I'm actually leaning toward it being a tail, though, because in the manga…it just gets longer and longer. I checked it out from GoldenUsagi's website, and it's really true o_O. Go there if you wanna check it out. She's a fanfict writer, so just check it out. And don't worry…I wouldn't let humans kill Sesshoumaru. Youkai, maybe, but humans…that's just too low. Actually…hm…not that bad of an idea >:D. Don't worry, he won't die, though. And Rin, as you can tell from this chapter, is being treated better. :D. Anyway, thanks for reviewin'~! 

Yun Fei: Ah, you got that Miroku and Rin part right on the dot :D. That's exactly how he sees her ^-^. And it's true, he's not that much of a pervert as fanfiction makes him ):( 

porifra: Hey…doesn't your name mean, like…something from one of the phylums? A bacteria? I dun' remember -_-;; Anyway…just to answer you questions: 1) Not telling >:D, 2) Nope, 3) Hm…, 4) Not telling, 5) Not telling >:D. I'm sho mean. Yah. But if I told you, then that'd just ruin all the fun! Anway…I wrote in the first chapter, hun, that there is no pairing. It still stands. 

marnika: Myesh, as you see, I've incorporated the electric shocks to the chapter >:D Very good suggestion. Now…as for this Rin/Sess pairing…that be rather, you know, disgusting. I doubt that Sesshoumaru's a pedophile. Unless, of course, you mean Rin/Sess as in…father-ish and daughter-ish like happenings. You dun need to worry about that. That's being handled. As for her bringing him the swords…that would sort of mess up the whole plot line if she was able to go through the well. So, sorry, as much as that is a good suggestion, it won't be used ):(. 

Crimson Youkai Angel: Heehee~~I think you're sick CYA…):D I shtill luv you, though :D. Um…no, Sesshoumaru's life will not cease to exist…:D 

Crystal Jewel: Hm…making him go insane is a good one >:D. But no, Sesshoumaru won't be killed, so don't worry about any dissections *sickened* >:O And see! They call him Fluffy! Project Fluffy, to be exact. Pwease don't laugh. It's not meant to be funny, though T_T. 

Kitsune Bi 123: Hi in Japanese depends. Good morning=ohayou, good afternoon=konnichi wa, and good evening=komban wa. There isn't really a "Hi!" So yah ~_~. And yes, if you want me to do that, I will :D. I think I did in this chapter, though :D. The shtuff put in Sesshoumaru was partial radioactivity…the rest will be revealed later (because I still need to figure that out >_______>). And sorry for spelling stomach with an e all the time. The thing is, I'm originally french and learned english when I was about 4 or 5. That's how stomach is spelled in french. It just sort of sticks onto me ):D. Like how I spell colour instead of color and other things of the sort. Sorry, though, hehe~ I'll try to control myself from now one ):D. 

Lord Fluffy: You're welcome. Hmm…Jaken bashing? Not really…I don't hate him, so I won't bash him. Simple as that. Besides, that would make the story more humourous than it is serious. I don't want to be serious ONLY, but I just want to stick more with the theme of seriousness. That and…as you read from this chapter, he's gone…for now. 

Lord Fluffy: *repeats review response ^o^;;* 

Spiffeh Sesshomaru: Thank you…*writes your name in the list with the other masochists* Anyway, this story just hitting one aspect of youkai in the future. 

Tears of an Impassive Nymph: Yay! Thanks for reading my story! I'm sho happy now! And you're ANOTHER masochist! Ugh! (join the club >:D) Was chapter two really that realistic? Hmm…o_O And thank you for LOVing my story so much ~_~. 

anhimals: Thank you ^-^. And yesh, there is no pairing >:D. Yah, junior year IS a (bad word ~_~), and the teachers decieve you and make you think that you're doing SO WELL in their class, and…then you get the progress reports. *cries* Thank you for being patient with me, though. 

yamitamashii: Don't you really? I do too. He's evil >_> Hmm…you may not want me to torture Shichurisu-chan (that's what I call Sesshoumaru!), but I want to torture him…that's all the counts >:D You know you like it, don't deny >:D>:D>:D And don't worry. Shichurisu-sama won't die. He'll probably come so very close to it, though >:D.   
  
That's that, you guys. Thanks for your reviews and your words of encouragement. I love you all so much T_T. Until next time, which is kami-sama knows when o_O, ja matta! And THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!! XD   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Pain

**A/N**: Okay…just to warn you all…this might get a little intense, I think it will be based solely on the 'experiments' that the scientists will be…experimenting Sesshoumaru on. Just a warning so that you don't start like…crying to me in a review or something that you hate what's bein' done to Sess. That and NO! SESSHOUMARU WON'T DIE!! >:O Question…how many of you guys think that Sess is gonna crack? By the way…yes, there is a reason that they are doing these more intense experiments. It'll be revealed in this chapter. 

– 

**Water and Blood **

~ 

Chapter 7: _Pain_

~ 

    No words, not a thousand, could describe the shame that he felt right now, the disgust. He never knew that humans could be this disgusting and this low…or even this capable. Interestingly so, they also were able to induce pain on him as well—with their bare hands no less. He was in an upright position now, having been like so for over an hour. 

     After they'd nearly stretched his limbs with his chains, they left him hanging here—completely lacking any garments—before some others flooded into the room. He had snarled at the humans dangerously, but it proved to do nothing for himself. One of them had mentioned that this was some sort of…test. It was a test for physical…endurance. 

     He clenched his eyes tightly at the painful memory. And for sure it was painful. The only thing he bore himself to do was shift his tail so that it wrapped around an upper thigh and gave him what little privacy it could. After that, he had endured their blows to his body. 

     After a while of the physical torture, that old bastard had walked in again. He'd asked the same question that he'd given the inu youkai earlier. And he added that he wanted to know if there were more like him. Of course, when the youkai lacked an answer, the pain inflicted on him had doubled. He had resisted even opening his mouth to mouth his pain before, but when electricity and sharp objects had become involved in the picture, his mask collapsed. 

     When his mouth had made even the smallest noise, all blows and devices of torture came to a halt. The old man raised his eyebrows, as if expecting an answer to his question. He fruitlessly asked again. The lack of answer resulted in pain again—worse pain. It took a shorter amount of time for him to actually let out a short scream of pain. When his body had slumped forward from the pain harshly, he felt his sockets at his shoulders* dislocate. 

     After a short laugh from the old man, he was relieved that his hair was covering his face. The least it had done was hide his wide, pain-filled eyes and his slightly ajar mouth, breathing out tendrils of blood and pain. As if nearly…_fearing_ more infliction upon his body, he had allowed his bloodied tail to wrap around his tender body. 

     When they grabbed it tightly and wrenched it away from his body, another sound elicited from his mouth, a sound close to a whimper. His tail was the most sensitive part of a body as one was to an animal. They had tried nothing more with his body. 

     He was here, now, with his body bruised and blistered. And he couldn't help but wonder…wonder if it could get any worse… 

     …and if he would ever be able to leave this place…alive. The time he had to himself was cut short as the doors slid open again. He gave a slight wince at the sound of the door. It only meant more humans. More humans meant more means of pain. 

     "It's another test of physical endurance," he heard a feminine voice say. More? He stared at her angrily, returning his feral mask. She took a step far too close to him as the chains on his legs began to loosen. He took it as a way to tell the humans that he wouldn't allow them to cause him infliction without him doing the same to them. He lashed his leg at her, a pleasurable smirk forming on his bloody lips as she let out a scream of pain when her back collided with the wall with a sickening sound. 

     His neck was instantly surrounded by the paralyzing collar device. 

     "Detain him…" he heard the old man say from the door, "…as I take off his chains in a few minutes." The orders were followed. "See, my Sesshoumaru…" the man started as he stood in front of the youkai, "I've recently told the military base of you. They sounded fairly…interested." 

     The youkai snarled at the man, the chains holding him rattling dangerously as he tried to fruitlessly shake himself lose. He didn't understand what the man was talking about. It spurred his naiveté of the future, which only frustrated him more. 

     "So they are driving over right away to see what I spoke of. Do you know what the General told me? He told me…that if you are as great a find as I say you are…you will be able to aid the military greatly." He paused. "You will aid the military in a conspiracy of the murder of the American president. And when war breaks out…your other form will be of aid." 

     So these humans…planned on _using_ him for their bidding?! An angered, guttural growl came from his lips. How dare these humans even have the audacity to do such a thing! 

     "So tomorrow…tomorrow you have to be…prepared for their inspection…" Mukai smiled in pleasure from the youkai's frustration. "…I told you that you were mine. Do you think that the words were just a front? No…" 

     Unexpectedly, Sesshoumaru's turned toward the man as his limbs fruitlessly lunged for him, his claws ready to strike. The human didn't even wince as his fingers came mere centimeters to his skin. The youkai bore his teeth angrily as the human threw back his head in taut laughter. "No one uses this Sesshoumaru and lives! No one!" he yelled angrily, trying to wring his body from the chains, trying to escape so that he could clasp his fingers around the bastard's neck. 

     His mind chose to forget the fact that it had happened once before with that Naraku bastard. What assured him that it wouldn't happen again? That's what had made him furious, so very angry, like a wild animal. 

     "Hm…" The old man snapped his finger. At once, Sesshoumaru felt the collar tighten around his neck again, cutting of his flow of air. Mukai knew for a fact that it would hurt the youkai more because he'd just wasted his breath on yelling angrily. He smiled in misplaced pleasure as the youkai before him writhed and twisted a few times, his head kicking back and his back arching outward to get the small amount of air that he wouldn't receive. 

     Agony twisted inside of Sesshoumaru as the collar sent vines of fiery pain through his body for seconds upon more seconds. As the pain instantly stopped, his body was left shaking involuntarily, his limbs weakly slumped over. Every now and then, his body would give a slight twitch. Seconds later, he felt absolutely nothing. The chains rattled as they fell from around his limbs. He body fell to the ground less than discreetly. Connected chains were put on his ankles, and some sort of band was put around his wrist. 

     "Get him and let's go," Mukai said as he threw his head toward the door and walked to it. One of the men grabbed hold of Sesshoumaru tightly by his hair, another man taking hold of the chains on Sesshoumaru ankles. The two carried his stunned, stiff body out of the room, into the hallway, and then into another room. "Tell me, Sesshoumaru," Mukai started as he stared at the youkai, "how long are you able to hold your breath?" He knew he would receive no answer. 

     A few minutes passed silently until Sesshoumaru's limbs began to have feeling again. The humans noticed. "Okay, put him in, now," Mukai said as he pointed to the tinted container of water. 

     "What is this for again, Mukai-san?" asked one of the men as he snapped a rod onto the loop of Sesshoumaru's wristband and another rod onto the loop of the collar. 

     "The general asked me how long the specimen can hold his breath, if ever he is caught in a room full of gas, and if it came to that, how would he react to the gas. I told him that I'd test his ability to hold his breath as well as his reactions to gases," Mukai responded nonchalantly. With the flick of his wrist, the men began to lift Sesshoumaru's body into the water, another few scientists putting suctions on Sesshoumaru's chest and jugular vein and his sides also. 

     "Oh, I see…" stated the man. 

     Sesshoumaru struggled to keep his head above the water as the human pushed down at the rod connected to the collar. With a few forceful pushes and tugs, his head was submerged under the water. 

     Mukai watched very closely. Soon, his colleague, Asako, walked by him and stared as well, holding the timer. "Let's see how long he'll hold up," she said to him. They stared at the still youkai through the glass. She looked at her timer after a while. "30 seconds," she said. She looked at his beautiful, silver hair as it wavered in the water like endless clouds in a bright blue sky. "He is so…beautiful," she muttered to herself. 

     "I agree," Mukai stated with a smirk. 

     "No, Mukai-san, I mean…he's physically beautiful. He's handsome!" she returned. "Oh…" She looked down at the timer. "One minute and 23 seconds…" she muttered in disbelief. "Wow…how can he stay in there for so long a time?" 

     "Well…he is youkai…" Mukai muttered with the roll of his eyes. 

     "But even so, his internal organs are probably the same as any humans'!" she retorted. 

     "True…" Mukai said as he put his hand on his chin. "Well maybe because of his animal-like instincts, he is able to slow down the processes of his body. Like how animals act as if they are dead when danger comes their way." 

     "Oh…yes, I think I can understand that," she mentioned. As a bubble came from the youkai's nose to the surface of the water, she looked at the timer. "2 minutes and 37 seconds…!" she said. She returned her gaze to the youkai. 

     Another minute passed. 

     And another minute. 

     "…Is he dead?" one of the men asked. 

     "…No, his body would then float to the surface if he was, and his body would convulse," Asako answered. The returned their gaze upon the youkai. "Other than the fact that you guys are pushing down on him in the first place…" 

     Another minute passed. 

     "His heart beat is becoming a little irregular," said one of the scientists at the monitor screen. 

     "Note that," Mukai said. They did as they were told. 

     More minutes passed. 

     After everyone thought of how long the longest human was able to stay underwater for, Asako took another look at the timer. "Kami-sama…" she said, here eyes widened. 

     "What is it?" Mukai asked. 

     "Some signs are showing failure, Mukai-san," said one of the scientists at the monitor. 

     "He broke the world record**…" she muttered to herself. 

     "How long?" he asked. 

     "He's been in here for 13 minutes and 47 seconds, now…" 

     "Mukai-san!" one of the scientists yelled angrily. 

     "What?" he asked. "Oh. Fine, fine. Pull him out." 

     They finally pulled Sesshoumaru up to a sitting position. He let out a growl. He hated, _hated_ being wet! Not only that, but now his hair was a tangled mess! But that wasn't very important at the moment. 

     "His stats are stabilizing…" the scientist said. 

     "Good…" He turned toward Sesshoumaru. "Stand, youkai," he said. The youkai lacked a response. "You're really going to have to learn obedience, Sesshoumaru," he said. "Especially if you are to become the General's pet." 

     The youkai's eyes thinned at the word and his blood boiled, sending a zap through him, which he ignored. He is no one's…_pet_! "This Sesshoumaru is no animal to be seized!" he barked at the human, literally. 

     "You sure do _act_ like an animal…" the scientist muttered. "And it's already too late to be speaking of being seized. Where do you think you are right now?" 

     It was a hard blow to the youkai's pride. 

     "Now, I won't repeat myself after this time. Stand." Mukai fisted his hand in the air. No response. The old man glowered angrily before turning to the man holding the rod that connected to Sesshoumaru's collar. The man pulled out the black, electric device that Mukai had used earlier and pressed the green button. 

     Sesshoumaru leaned forward as the electricity surged through him, the spikes driving madly into his skin and the collar tightening. His dripping hair fell in hurried clumps over his face as his eyes widened again. If not to make the pain worse, he was still in the container of water. When the pain finally stopped, he was left breathing deeply for air, his limbs twitching. 

     "Need I repeat myself again?" Mukai said as he crossed his arms and stared at his specimen. He watched as blood began to soak the perfect, silver hair. "Hmm?" He smirked as the youkai grabbed the edge of the container. He watched the knuckles whiten, most likely from the youkai's anger and strain, as he slowly, very slowly stood up. 

     "Oh my…" Asako muttered as she blushed and looked away. She cleared her throat. 

     "Oh come on, Asako," one the men said with a smirk. "It's like you haven't seen a naked man before." 

     "And what are you suggesting, Keiichi?!" she questioned angrily as she faced him and fisted her hand. "I haven't!" She caught sight of Sesshoumaru again, giving a blush and looking away. 

     'How disgraceful…' Sesshoumaru thought angrily. Twisting his tail so that it wrapped around his upper thigh and once again gave him what little privacy it could. 

     "See, now, my Sesshoumaru?" Mukai asked as he walked up to Sesshoumaru. "It's not that hard to listen to what we tell you, is it?" He gave a smirk as the youkai remained quiet. "Now…get out of the container…" he ordered. He was pushing it too far. The youkai held his glare and did nothing. "You don't want more pain, do you?" he asked. Sesshoumaru failed to respond. The man glowered. Instead, to his utter surprise and glee, the youkai stepped one foot onto the edge, then a hand… 

     …and climbed out, dripping wet. 

     "Very good…" Mukai said. He walked out of the room, telling the men to do so as well. 

     Sesshoumaru stood still, glaring at the man as he passed him and walked through the door. When he was roughly tugged at, he wavered forward a bit, taking a step to keep himself balanced. The man tugged the rod again, making him walk (limp) involuntarily. 

-

     "Kagome," Inuyasha started angrily, "you're not going to _school_!" 

     Kagome settled onto her couch. They'd arrived minutes ago. "What I said is final, Inuyasha!" she said. "I'm going to school tomorrow! Who knows, maybe some kids at school have heard about this whole deal!" she reasoned. She noticed how he settled for a couple of seconds. 

     Inuyasha's eyebrows twitched. "…Fine…" he muttered. 

     "Arigatou, Inuyasha," she said gratefully. 

-

     He couldn't breathe! For the life of him, this intoxicating air infringed his breathing. The fumes had gone through his respiratory system before he knew that he had to reject them. He held his hand to his neck as he bent over, trying to cough the choking fumes out. 

     It made his head throb endlessly, painfully. And it wasn't as if he had any cloth to cover his mouth. The throbbing didn't end, making him grab at his head. The fumes still intoxicated his body, the taste metallic and bitter. 

     He held his hand to his mouth as a rush came from his stomache. On his knees now, he bent over as he removed his hand, bile flowing forth. The disgusting taste only sent his stomache lurching again. He couldn't stop…throwing up. 

  
     "His body apparently reacts the same to gases as ours do, Mukai-san, if not worse," stated one of the scientists. "If we don't clean the air, he'll be dead within minutes." 

     "Really now," Mukai muttered as he put his hand to his chin. "Fine…give him another minute." 

     "Yes, Mukai-san." 

  
     When there was nothing more for his body to give, Sesshoumaru slumped to the ground on his side. His body gave a short convulsion. His head…still throbbed, but more painfully. It made his body curl and his hands wrench at his skull. He gave another short convulsion, a whimper proceeding from his mouth. 

     His eyes began to flutter uncontrollably from the reaction to the gas. His body gave another convulsion. 

     His claws scratched at the metallic ground, giving a chorus of screeches. He gave another convulsion. 

     A choking sound erupted from his throat as his eyes rolled into their sockets. Still on his side, he convulsed again. He couldn't breathe… 

  
     "Clean the air, right now!" Mukai yelled in near horror as he watched. "Do it right now!" 

     "Yes sir," said the man as he began to press on various keys. 

     "Kami-sama! He's suffering from a seizure! It can kill him!" Mukai roared as he practically flew through the door. He waited at the door that Sesshoumaru was behind, a small green light coming on, giving signal that it was safe that he enter. He entered instantly, gasping as his specimen lay still on the ground. At closer sight of him, he gave a short whimper. 

     Sesshoumaru wasn't breathing… 

– 

*** Just because he has a stub of an arm doesn't mean that they don't have a way to chain it. So both shoulders dislocated.   
**The world record for the longest breath held under water is 13.42 minutes. **

A/N: …What an awful place to end this chapter. I mean really. I can't believe I'm doing this to you! Well, it's not really much of a cliff hanger because I already told you that Sesshoumaru WILL NOT DIE!! So you don't need to be worried. He'll be back in piece(s) in the next chapter. And guess what!! (I THINK) the next chapter is where Kagome finds out where he is! And boy don't you wonder how o_O. So I think that this story will be 11 chapters TOPS. It's either 11 or less. Okay, review responses: 

_ The Crystal Wolf: No, dun worry, Sesshoumaru lives. :D Don't cry! He'll be better than fine……hopefully…XD _

Tsume Yamagata: I don't know! I don't know what I'm doing to him! *wails as well* And what do you mean I 'don't mean it!'? Of course I do…*stares at Sesshoumaru* Hmm…yah…he's definitely a bishounen worthy of going through some torture…>:D 

porifra: Oh! Oh! Can I call you Porifrabob Squarepants?! Oh pleaaassseee?? No, I'm just joking. I think that's a cute name you have there :D Hehe ~_~. Yah, I enjoyed the part where Rin smacked Miroku as well. I, in a way, used your poison idea! It was poison gas in the last scene. Tsk, tsk. Shame on you for taking part in the Sesshy torture. Tsk tsk…:P 

yamitamashii: Hehe! The slapping part was fun to write ^-^ Hehe…some torture is good. As for being abused by a family member, like child abuse, that's bad. I don't enjoy that. But this kind of torture…I like…I like it a lot…Yah, Mukai is an evil dude. Strangely enough…he has the same last name as my Japanese teacher…*turns to her angry teacher* I swear I'm not implying something, Mukai-sensei!! How is this going to be a Rin/Sess fic in the end?! The girl is only 6 years old! As for being like a fatherish daughterish moment, of course we'll have that. Slightly…so very slightly…Actually, I started a Sess/Rin pairing fic. If you'd like to read it, it's called I Prefer not To :D. 

Yes…GO READ MY THREE NEW FANFICTIONS, YOU GUYS! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEEEAAAASSSEEEE!!! ONE IS EVEN A **SESS/RIN** PAIRING FIC!!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Answers

**A/N**: You guys…we're getting so close to the eeeend~~. Things begin to heighten in this chapter! Like…things! Okay…I'll let you read for yourselves XD. By the way, just so you are happy, this chapter does NOT have MUCH Sess torture. Very little. SO VERY LITTLE. This chapter may seem a bit rushed at parts and smooth at others…because I was more interested in certain parts than others. Gomen XDXD 

– 

**Water and Blood**

**~**

    "Kami-sama! He's suffering from a seizure! It can kill him!" Mukai roared as he practically flew through the door. He waited at the door that Sesshoumaru was behind, a small green light coming on, giving signal that it was safe that he enter. He entered instantly, gasping as his specimen lay still on the ground. At closer sight of him, he gave a short whimper. 

    Sesshoumaru wasn't breathing… 

**Chapter 8: _Answers_**

~ 

     "Kami-sama…" Mukai muttered breathlessly as he stared at the hardly breathing specimen in front of him. They had managed to bring Sesshoumaru back in one piece with a respirator. Now he was breathing on his own. But it had been 13 hours past now, and it was well into the night…or morning rather. "I thought I'd lost you…" 

     The youkai continued with his soft breaths noiselessly. Every now and then, his eyebrow or his finger would give a small twitch. 

     The old man breathed out softly. 'The greatest thing that has happened in my life…' he thought. He turned to the door as it opened. 

     "Mukai-san…" started one of the scientists. 

     "What is it?" Mukai asked a little roughly. 

     "…General Kobayashi is here…" he said softly. "He said that he would like to the specimen at nine in the morning…And then he would like to observe him for the rest of the day…" 

     "Fine…" Mukai muttered. "Tell him that he may rest in the sleeping quarters." 

     "Sure thing, Mukai-san." 

     When the door closed, the man turned toward the youkai again. "My greatest find…" he muttered. "Don't you dare make my heart stop like it did hours ago…" He wanted Sesshoumaru alive. "Don't do it to me ever again…" 

-

     "Bye, guys!" Kagome said as she waved at her friends. She tucked a small clump of hair behind her ears as she smiled, looking down. She couldn't contain her happiness at seeing her friends for the day. She lightly clamped her hands around her book as she continued to walk. 

     "Higurashi!" a voice called behind her. 

     'Please…no, Hojou-kun…' she thought. She stopped and turned around. Unfortunately, it was Hojou. It wasn't that she hated him. Not at all! He was sweet and kind. But…he really needed to figure out that…she really didn't like him more than a friend. "Konnichi wa, Houjou-kun," she said as she smiled, hiding her frustration. 

     "How've you been lately, Higurashi?" he asked as he walked beside her for a while with a smile plastered on his face. 

     "I've been fine, Hojou-kun, thank you." She looked away for a couple of seconds. 

     "Listen…" he started, "I've been wondering, Higurashi…" 

     "Ano…look at the time!" she said as she looked at her watch. "I'm late for my appointment!" 

     "What appointment?" he paused. "What's wrong?" 

     "Gomen ne, Hojou-kun! I have no time to explain! I didn't even realize how late it was! I have to go right now!" 

     "…I see," Hojou said despondently as he looked down. 

     It hurt Kagome a little to see him so…hurt. "Listen, Hojou-kun…maybe…we can catch up some other time…ne?" she asked. 

     "…Sure, Kagome," he said. "I'll see you later." He looked up at her, throwing her his best, most charming smile. 

     She smiled back at him before placing a warming hand on his arm. "Thank you, Hojou-kun," she said. "Ja ne!" At that she took off. 'Kami-sama…it's so hard to get rid of him without feeling bad about it when he acts so endearingly toward you…' she thought to herself as she continued running home. 

     She finally arrived, then opened the front door. "Tadaima!" she screamed as she entered the house and closed the door. [Tadaima = I'm home/back!] 

     "It's about time!" Inuyasha screamed from the other room. 

     Kagome rolled her eyes before walking in the room that Inuyasha was in, watching him practically abuse her cat with a smile on his face. "Inuyasha, don't bother Buyo else he'll scratch you…" she muttered. She always told him that. 

     Inuyasha ignored her words and continued to taunt the feline by pulling on it's limbs whilst making cute sounds. As Kagome passed him, he paused. "…Ka—Kagome…" Inuyasha started. 

     "What is it?" she asked. 

     He whirled to her, dropping the cat in his hands. His nose gave a twitch as he crawled closer to her. 

     "_What_?" she asked. 

     "…Why do you…smell like Sesshoumaru?" he asked, his eyebrows turned inward angrily. 

     "…I what?" she asked and paused. "But—but how?" she asked. She saw the dubious look in his eyes. "…I only went to school, Inuyasha, I swear…" 

     "You're going to school tomorrow, Kagome…" Inuyasha said surly. "And I'm going to follow you there." 

     "_What_?" she asked in confusion. "Why?" 

     "If his scent is on you, then that means that he is either nearby your school or…someone else from your school is…" 

     Kagome thought about what he said. She didn't ever think about that! "Alright," she said. "If it brings us closer to finding Sesshoumaru…" 

-

     Sesshoumaru was now sitting up in a crouched position. His body gave a light shiver from the lack of clothing. He looked down at the welts on his body, the cuts. His stomache empty and his head still in pain, he gave a short whimper. He hurt. He couldn't stay here any longer. It wasn't even the fact that he was hurting physically, either… 

     …He was starting to also feel ill at mind. He could _feel_ it. Like…some sort of…animal-like wildness was taking over him. 

     The stinging of his leg moving across the floor brought his attention out of his thoughts and elicited another whimper from his mouth. Looking at one of the cuts on his hand, which was still bleeding, he gave it a lick, allowing his saliva to clean the dirt and blood from the wound so that it could heal faster. His tongue felt dry, as if his mouth was robbed of the juice. 

     He continued to lick at the wounds on his body. Those that he couldn't reach were left throbbing in pain while the rest began their slow process in healing. He would look around every few seconds as if there was some one watching him…watching his every moves. He knew there were people watching him…which made him all the more…vulnerable. 

     At every wound he licked, he would give a soft, dog-like whimper, his eyes scrunching in pain. Where was Tensusaiga? 

     Everything…was making him angry: that wench for cursing him with those two shards, going through the well after the girl had fallen in, being captured. It disgusted him that in these times…youkai were treated so lowly, without the reverence that they should have been treated. Were there even any other youkai? 

     His senses had been playing tricks on him lately, dulling at times, and others times flailing so heatedly that it made him feel ill. All because of these humans… 

     It disgusted him even more that he had allowed this to be done to him. He had been captured and allowed these humans to…hurt him…, make shame of him…, debase him…, probe at his wounds and body… 

     And he hated it. He hated the fact that…they found his physical weakness and exploited it. He hated the fact that they could easily control him…by bringing him pain. 

     No…he didn't even hate that. He hated the fact that…they were able to distill the egg of vulnerability—maybe even an anxiety of further pain—inside of him. What he hated most about that…was the fact that… 

     …he could feel it…cracking…cracking inside of him, attempting—_threatening_—to burst… 

  
     "You see…he seems very animalistic at times, Kobayashi-sama," Mukai stated. "But his intelligence is probably far beyond ours…" 

     "Yes, I see…" the General stated, his hands behind his back as he watched Sesshoumaru's every move. "What is it he is called again?" 

     "Sesshoumaru, Kobayashi-sama," Mukai replied. 

     "Hm…" He seemed deep in thought as he stared deeply at the specimen. "Tell me…how old is he?" 

     "Well…we were able to gather that his age is at least 70 years…Meaning that he is over 200 years in what we suppose is dog years." 

     "I see…" He nodded his head. "How long do you think he can stay alive?" he asked. 

     "…We don't exactly know…" he muttered. "Given the circumstances, he can last for over 200 more human years…" 

     The General watched in awe as the specimen began to growl about angrily as if something were in the room with him. "Is he always this…wild?" he asked. 

     "Actually…he's usually very calm…and very disobedient," Mukai said, his eyes widened a bit. "It could be a belated reaction of the gas that we used…" 

     Or it could have been that any 'animal' caged for so long and abused as Sesshoumaru was would naturally begin to lose its mind. 

     "I see…" the General responded. "Hm…Clothe him with what I have provided. And…his canine teeth…do something with them. I want to meet him personally…" The General walked out of the room with the statement. 

-

     The collar still around the youkai's neck, he was now in another room. There was all glass surrounding him, and he'd been lashing out at the material now for nearly an hour wildly. He continued to scratch at it. He would turn in one direction, not realizing that it was glass that he was going to crash into. The (blurry) humans were standing there on the other side of the glass, not even wincing as he slammed into it time and time again wildly. 

     There went his sense of seeing at the moment. Everything was a blur to his usually keen eyes. Unable to decipher the thick material between him and the humans, he'd been making poor attempts to kill them. But it wasn't even _that_ which made him lash about so…crazily. 

     He could hear things…hear things louder than he was supposed to. He could hear loudly the sound of machinery screeching, drilling, being electrified; he could hear loudly the words of the humans, _all_ of them in this place, this buildling. Laughing, giggling, yelling angrily, yelling screechily—he could hear it all. And it wasn't hearing like normal…it was like they were inside of his head—boisterously… 

     …But he could hardly feel their presence…His senses had become weak… 

  
     The General wasn't very satisfied, though. He stared at the tight clothed-clad youkai in the cage, a muzzle on his mouth (the clothing resembles Kohaku's clothing). He seemed so…undomesticated. But he'd make sure to change that. "Is there any means of subjugation?" he asked as he looked at Mukai. 

     "Actually…there are two," the old man replied. "First is the collar around his neck. It disallows him to breathe while sending tendrils of pain through him. It makes him give complete cooperation afterwards." He was lying. He hadn't seen that yet… 

     "I see…" the General muttered. "May I…have an illustration?" he asked. 

     "With pleasure…" The old man pressed on the green button on the device he'd just pulled out of his pocket. 

     The both of them watched as the youkai stopped his wild movements. His hand instantly went to the collar around his neck fervently. He gave a convulsive jerk toward the ground. His mouth opened slightly as his eyes tightened. He stopped suddenly, as if all pain had ceased. He lay still, breathing roughly as he curled onto his side. He had halted his wild movements all together. 

     "Interesting…" he muttered in mild fascination; the sort of fascination that a child would show at first glance of a circus. As that child would, the General eyes glinted with thes want of a closer…look. 

     "Isn't it, really?" Mukai asked. 

     "Now…Mukai…I noticed it before, but you never mentioned to me…that he was infirm…" 

     "Well, uh, Kobayashi-sama," the old man stuttered, "I didn't think that it would make a great difference…" 

     "He still operates perfectly with only that arm, then, you are saying?" asked the General. The old man nodded in response. "Hnh…Now…of the ways of subjugation…what of the second one?" 

     "Ah, that, we actually have not tried it on him yet, but on one of our willing colleagues. What it is, is a shot administered to him. When it is done coursing through his blood rather quickly, he is submissive to any order that is given him. Depending on the dosage will depend on the amount of time. Also, depending on the concentration, the reactions of obedience come out differently." 

     "I trust you that it is fine for me to personally see this specimen…my pet," the General said calmly. 

     "…Well…" Mukai stuttered. "I'm not too sure if it is wise to do so. He is very dangerous. Some of his actions are very…spontaneous—unpredictable." 

     "He has two leashes one that one collar of his! How dangerous can he get?" the General asked. He looked at the youkai again, the two leashes coming from the walls rattling slightly as he began to move about again. 

     "Fine, Kobayashi-sama. I cannot hold you back. Do as you please. But I warn you…he does not usually move around as he is right now…" 

     "Give me one of those syringes…" he muttered as he held out his hand. "I can devise many…_ways_ to keep him obedient…" 

     "…Right…" the old man muttered. He pulled one from his pocket, tested it, and handed it to the General. "Be very careful. We don't know what his reactions might yet be." 

     The General was already walking to the door. He pressed a button and the door slid open, given him access to the room. "Hmm…" he grunted. "So you are my pet…" he said. He nodded his head, impressed. The youkai was letting out growls, but stopped when he spoke. He watched as the cloudy eyes followed his every move. 

     Sesshoumaru was bothered by the fact that the effects of the collar had left his eyesight nearly blackening and his hearing at a minimum. He hadn't even been aware of the human's presence until he had spoken. The words suddenly clicked. "This Sesshoumaru is no one's pet…" he said dangerously under the muzzle. 

     "…Are you so sure of that?" he asked. He walked closer to the youkai, stopping as the youkai flexed his claws as if to attack. "It's no use attacking me. I know some of the best self defense there is…" 

     A warning growl came from Sesshoumaru's muzzled mouth. 

     "Come morning…" the General started, taking another step forward, "You are very much so mine…" 

     The words angered the wild youkai. He practically flew forward to attack, ignoring the pull that the leashes gave him. With his strength stunted and his moves slower than usual, it really wasn't a surprise that the human was easily able to evade. 

     Instead, a kick to the stomache sent the youkai whimpering loudly as a dog would do when his master struck out violently at him, the most pained whimper a puppy could muster. He bent over in pain, then gave a nearly inaudible yelp as he hair was wrenched tightly. 

     "You see…youkai…" the General sneered, pulling at the youkai's hair tighter, "you are not very…popular to us humans. We find you a little dangerous. So this one chance that we have you in our clutches, you are ours. Mine, to be exact. I expect that you follow my orders thoroughly…like a good dog would do for its master." 

     The youkai growled angrily. The last few words had cut holes in him of foreboding 

     "You will not, first, answer to me with a growl. Do you understand me?" 

     The youkai gave a louder, more guttural growl as he wrapped his claw around the human's wrist. He gripped as tightly as his still weak body could, leaving red, stinging marks. He ignored the stinging pain that his hand received seconds later. Minimal time passed. 

     He felt different…He felt…not of himself. Not that he already felt different…but…this feeling was…_different_, as if he could do nothing of his own accord. 

     "Do you understand me?" the General asked again, this time with a smirk. 

     There was a long pause. And finally: 

     "…Yes…" 

     "Good…" the General said with a wide, misplaced smile. "Now…what are you to me?" Another long pause. 

     "…Nothing…" 

     He could feel what he was doing…but he had no way to resist it… 

     "Anything more?" 

     "…No…" 

     "And anything less…?" 

     "…No…" 

     "That's right…You'll be mine by the evening tomorrow…" 

-

     Kagome nervously looked around as she walked to school the next morning. The wind slightly kicking up and tousling her (practically non-existant, as Inuyasha liked to call it) skirt, making her wonder if Inuyasha was watching. 

     He'd been following her for the past ten minutes…It was rather irksome. She was hoping that…he wasn't bringing any unwanted attention. Then again…the fact that he was jumping off rooftops and flagpoles didn't really help in the situation much. She smiled as she neared the school, hoping to see her three girlfriends. 

     "Oi! Kagome!" one of them called from behind. 

     Kagome swiftly turned around and looked for her friend through the crowd of people. Ah, _there_ she was. "Oi! Eri-chan!" she screamed happily, waving at the girl, who ran over to catch up to her. 

     "Ohayou, Kagome! What's up?" she asked as they continued walking. 

     "Oh…nothing really," Kagome said with a slightly empty smile. 

     "…I know that look …It's your boyfriend, ne, Kagome-chan?" 

     "…Yeah…a little," she said, looking up with a sigh. 

  
     Inuyasha almost fell from the flagpole that he was perched upon. 'Na—_Nani_?! Boyfriend?!' 

     Upon further prodding of the conversation…he realized that Kagome was talking about him. The thought of it only brought him to blush softly. 'Kagome…' he thought. 

     He continued to follow her and her friend as the neared the school. Hopping from one pole to one building and repeating the process differently each time, he watched interestingly as another girl caught up with her. A short while later, a third girl caught up with her. 

     Nothing suspicious came of it. 

     As the were near entering the school, he noted (quite jealously) the boy that caught up to them as well, talking to Kagome solely. He watched as the three other girls seemed to scamper off inside of the school building, but hiding behind bushes instead to listen in. 

     One of them mentioned a bell ringing soon, and for a few seconds, he allowed his mind to linger and question what she was speaking of. The sight of the boy handing something to Kagome brought his attention back to her. Another feeling jealously crawled within him before he paused. 

     The scent…of Sesshoumaru… 

     It was here…with _this_ boy… 

     The warning bell rang and the three girls scampered inside of the building with wide eyes, leaving Kagome and the boy by themselves. He angrily dropped from the perch he was sitting on between Kagome and the boy. 

     "Kyaa!" Kagome screamed, grasping at her heart at the sudden sight of Inuyasha. She looked at Hojou, who had more than a frightened expression on his face as Inuyasha grabbed his collar. He was pale…like he was seeing some sort of ghost. "Inuyasha…osuwari!" 

     "Nyah!" 

     Hojou wore a confused expression as he saw the downed…guy. He then looked at Kagome, who had her arms crossed angrily. "…You know him, Kagome-chan?" Hojou suddenly asked. 

     "Yes…I _do_," she managed to answer, a little miffed. 'Unfortunately…' 

     A string of curses came from Inuyasha's mouth; he was trully angry. He stood up after a few seconds. He grabbed Hojou by his collar again, ignoring Kagome's angry threats of saying the word again. The boy let out a near terrified scream. "You have Sesshoumaru's scent on you!" Inuyasha barked angrily. 

     "He _what_?" Kagome asked in shock as she looked over at Hojou. "I said put him down, Inuyasha!" she yelled angrily, realizing that he _still_ had his grip on him. 

     "Sesshoumaru…" Hojou said, as if musing. "…The youkai?" 

     The question heightened Inuyasha's suspicion. 

– 

A/N: Wraah! IT'S HOJOU!! Hojou KNOWS!! XD. See…I told you they'd find out…sort of. Questions will be answered as to just WHY Hojou knows in the next chapter, though it may just be blatantly obvious. That and…if Inuyasha and Kagome aren't quick…they might not see Sesshoumaru…ever…* watches as Inuyasha does happy dance* O_O;;; Hurry Kagome! Hurry Inuyasha! Sesshoumaru can't wait any longer! He's so close to just…giving…up…>:O *gasps along with the rest of the audience* 

_ Tsume Yamagata: O_O Meep! *hides in a corner* Now…I wonder why you'd hate me…You…you want to CHOKE me? ;_; Waaaii~~! Ramen is crying waterfall tears *cries endlessly* >:D. Actually…I've never written a story where one of my reviewers wanted to choke me…:D. I'm happy now ^-^ Hm…to make Sessh turn out undamaged in the end…or make him damaged…hm…decisions, decisions… _

The Crystal Wolf: Hmm…I really wonder if he'll turn out okay. >:D Even so…with you hugging the poor thing to death, I wonder…o_O ^-^ 

porifra: Hehe ~_~. Sorry. It was too good of any idea to pass up. >:D. Thanks for the suggestion. Wahaha! Nee~…I think I'll call you porifrabobeta from now on ~_~. I can't resist. Your name is tangible in so many ways -_-;; 

Kitsune Bi 123: Alright…I think…I'm done with the Sess torture, really >_>. But yah…Asako…kinda likes Sesshoumaru…I guess. But she better watch out…she can look, but she better not touch…Or else she'll have to deal with me…and Tsume-chan, and…All other Fluffy fans >:D;; 

Lady Aika: Yah, I sorta realized that when I went into your bio. (I have this strange quirk for reading people's bios…and enjoying it XDXD). Your email was the same, so I was like, "Oh! Crimson Youkai Angel! ^-^" Thank you for the compliments. Don't worry, we all have those moments where our brains are just…flowing with…strange…ness. ^-^;;; 

Mintvee: *glomps you* Waai! I love you XD. You're, like, always there to review my stories! XD I only knew it was you because I remember you telling me that you wanted this to be your pen name, so yah. ^-^. Austraaaaliaaa~~. I want their SAND!! XDXD So red…Hmm…The name Shichirisu doesn't really have a meaning. At all. I made it up. Kind of. You know…Sess has citrus colored eyes (I'm tired of hearing amber or honey. I like Citrine and stuff :D or even sunflower…hmm…new Sess name!! XDXD). Citrus = Shichirisu. That's how I translate into Japanese, so yah (makes up her own words -_-;;). Wow…that was rather blunt that you don't like Rin/Sess stories. Bleh. Oh well ^-^. It's your opinion. (CHANGE! CHANGE NOW >:O *joking*) Yah, the science lady (her name is Asako), is sort of in love with him. As for Sess being the generals pet…that's not exactly a good thing, as you've probably gathered from this chapter. 

fluffyluver07: Hehe~ >:D. Thaz the way I wanted it to be >:D. So addictive that you couldn't get away from it even though you hate it. Thaz my intention, that 'tis. Oh, don't worry, they're coming sooner than you think >:D. And you know…for a while, I was contemplating letting Inuyasha get caught as well…, but, as you say, that'd be too strange o_O. And it'd only make this story longer than I want it to be. =_=. Sess giving up? Hmm…:O… 

yamitamashii: Kwehehe >:D. Yah, I updated fast cuz I wrote the 6, 7, and 8th chapter at the same time :D. Anyway, yah, this torture I'm fine with ^-^. 

Crow T R0bot: Nee…you sort of sound so…angry with Japan…o_O. Thanks for the' abrut' review though ~_~. 

Infernale: Thanks! I will! 

Please…if you guys love me… review!! And…hehe~ That's not the end of the deal. ~_~. Read my other new stories as well. And spread word! Ja matta, minna! REVIEW!! >:O   
  
  
  
  
  



	9. Help

**A/N**: Wow…my email is full of reviews. Do you know how happy I was to get them? I nearly died of a heart attack, that's how happy I was o_O. You guys, I love you! None of my fanfics have ever had this much glory, not even Black Heart o_O. Well, I'll keep you waiting no longer, hopefully what happens here answers your questions >:D. Oh yah, by the way, mid terms are coming up. I dun' know when my next chapter will be updated XD 

– 

**Water and Blood**

~ 

     "You have Sesshoumaru's scent on you!" Inuyasha barked angrily. 

     "He what?" Kagome asked in shock as she looked over at Hojou. "I said put him down, Inuyasha!" she yelled angrily, realizing that he still had his grip on him. 

     "Sesshoumaru…" Hojou said, as if musing. "…The youkai?" 

     The question heightened Inuyasha's suspicion. 

**

Chapter 9: _Help_

**

~ 

    An angry growl came from Inuyasha's lips as he stared intently at Hojou. "What do you know about him being a youkai?" he snarled dangerously. He shook Hojou by his collar quickly. 

     Hojou stared at him, his skin blanched. He stuttered as he tried to speak. Giving a quick glance at Kagome, he noted that she looked none too happy. "I…I'm not supposed to tell, much less know of it…" he muttered. 

     "Inuyasha, if I have to tell you _one_ more time to put Hojou-kun down, I'll say the word five times!" she screamed angrily, grabbing onto the sleeve of his haori. 

     Inuyasha looked at Kagome, then back at Hojou before snuffing like a dog as he let go of the teenager. "Fine," he muttered. 

     "Good," Kagome said. She looked at the school, then at the watch on her wrist. "Too late for school _now_," she muttered to herself. "We're going for a walk; all three of us," she said as she began walking away from the school, slinging her backpack on her back again. 

     Hojou and Inuyasha looked at her strangely before following her. "But Higurashi," Hojou started, "my test…" 

     "You can miss _one_, Hojou, and still get good grades. I miss them all the time." She looked over at her shoulder and notices Inuyasha following Hojou with his claws extending. "Inuyasha, come up here. You're not going to harm Hojou-kun." 

     "Oh, so now you call him kun just like that ookami bastard, Kouga," Inuyasha muttered angrily, walking up to her and deliberately bumping into Hojou on his way. 

     As soon as the three of them were far enough from the school, Kagome stopped walking and turned to the two boys. "You're acting like a child Inuyasha," Kagome said as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She then looked at Hojou before walking to Inuyasha again. "Hojou-kun…" she started, "I have some explaining to do, I know…" She found interest at the scuff marks on her shoes. "I should have been honest with you earlier. But—" At that, she pulled Inuyasha's hat from his head, waiting for a reaction. 

     "Kagome!" Inuyasha nearly screeched, trying to keep the hat on his head. His pearly white hair cascaded down his back and sides which compelled him to look around just incase any other humans were around. 

     "Kami-sama!" Hojou said as he took a step back, taking a full look at the pearly white hair and the ears. "You're…you're one of _them_, aren't you?!" 

     "Don't panic, Hojou-kun," Kagome said, trying to quiet him down. "Inuyasha can't do anything to hurt you." 

     Hojou looked from Kagome to Inuyasha repeatedly, taking another step back when he heard a snarl come from the 'youkai's' mouth. "But…" 

     "Inuyasha wouldn't hurt a flea if he had the chance," she said with a short smile. "Well…if you don't count _Myouga_, but that's a different story…Inuyasha's perfectly harmless." 

     "Keh," Inuyasha said as he turned away from them after he crossed his arms. 

     Kagome rolled her eyes at Inuyasha, turning her attention to Hojou again. "Hojou-kun…I need you to be brutally honest with me," she started. "Why do you know about Sesshoumaru?" 

     "I can't tell you, Kagome," he said after a while of thinking. "I told you…I can't tell you." 

     "Hojou…please…this is very important. Tell me," Kagome said, her eyes dilating as she implored him. "This isn't something that you can just hold as a secret." 

     "You better explain before I rip out your heart with my bare hands!" Inuyasha cut in, his claws flexing expertly. He smirked as Hojou took a few steps away from him. 

     "Are you sure he's not dangerous?" Hojou asked Kagome, creeping next to her. 

     "I'll make _sure_ of it," she muttered under her breath. "Osuwari! Baka! I told you not to scare Hojou-kun, Inuyasha no baka! Osuwari, osuwari, _osuwari_!" 

     Hojou took a look at Inuyasha lying on the ground, mumbling and uttering curses under his breath. He cocked his eyebrow at Kagome. "How…?" he asked. 

     "That's not important," Kagome said softly. She grabbed his hand, taking note of the blush that instantly went over his nose softly. "Please…, you have to tell me how you know of him. I know that there's something wrong." 

     "It's my brother…" Hojou said after turning away from Kagome while grabbing Kagome's other hand. 

     "Who cares about your brother, Hohou?" Inuyasha asked as he stood up, his fist shaking in his face. He took a step back from Kagome's angered face. 

     "It's Hojou," he said obstinately. "Besides…my brother knows where 'Sesshoumaru' is…" Hojou answered. "…I really shouldn't be telling you this, but I was in his office the other day…because lately he's been coming home far too late…And I found something…" 

     "What did you find, Hojou-kun?" Kagome asked. She nearly yipped as Inuyasha tore her hands away from Hojou's hands and glared at her. 

     "I really shouldn't. It's classified information, Higurashi. I shouldn't even have gone into his office without his permission…" Hojou said. 

     "Tell or I'll rip your arm off and feed it to you!" Inuyasha screamed angrily, getting ready to grab Hojou by his collar again. 

     "Inuyasha, shut up." Kagome looked at Hojou. 'Why is he suddenly so interested?' she thought. 'I mean, just yesterday I really couldn't tell that he had any qualms about this situation.' She opened her mouth, "Listen, Hojou, Sesshoumaru doesn't belong there, where ever he is, much less does he belong _here_. It's not natural for him…This situation isn't trivial, it's dire." 

     "I know," he said as he looked down for a few seconds. "That Sesshoumaru youkai isn't having all fun and games where he is." 

     "They know?" Kagome asked. "They know that he's youkai?" 

     "Well…that's what my brother's notes says. I really don't believe it…but…" Hojou answers. "he's one of Dr. Mukai's most trusted scientists, despite his age…" 

     "This isn't the matter at hand," Inuyasha said heatedly. "Get to your point. Where in Kami's sake is the bastard?" 

     Hojou paused for a moment. "I don't know…" he muttered. 

     "Your brother, is he there now?" Kagome asked tersely. 

     "No, he's still at home. He goes there around 11…" Hojou said. 'Higurashi…what sort of secret are you hiding from me?' he thought. 

     Kagome looked down at her watch and back up at Hojou. "Let's go," she ordered. "We're going to your house now and your brother and I are going to have a…talk." 

     "But—" 

     "We're going. _Now_." Kagome started taking the back-way to Hojou's house, now that Inuyasha's hat wasn't on. They had to be scarce. "I have the worst feeling about this…" Kagome said. 

     'I didn't tell you everything, yet, Higurashi,' Hojou thought. He took a step to follow Kagome, but yipped as Inuyasha snapped his jaws dangerously at him with a glare. His hand held to his heart, he went in the lead. 'I have a feeling that this is gonna be a long day…' 

       
     They cut through the back of Hojou's house and Inuyasha stopped suddenly. A growl came from his lips. "Sesshoumaru's scent is here as well…" he muttered. 

     "I would think, being that my brother is in contact with his vicinity everyday…" Hojou said hotly. Inuyasha glared at him, which compelled him to take a step toward Kagome. The house was rather small, one story and made for only two or three people to live in. Hojou looked out the steam coming from his bathroom window. "He's in the shower," he muttered. 

     "How long do you think he'll be in there?" Kagome asked. 

     "Don't know," Hojou answered. "He usually takes a long time just incase…You know, with chemicals and all…" 

     "Good," Kagome said. "Let's go in quietly. I want to check out his office." 

     Hojou simply shrugged his shoulders, taking out his key and tacitly opening the front door. After Inuyasha and Kagome stepped in, he shut the door softly. Inuyasha snuffed as he smelled more of Sesshoumaru's scent. Hojou nodded his head in the direction of the office and began to walk there, past the bathroom with steam and heat crawling from the cracks. Inuyasha glared at the door as he passed by. 

     "Just stay quiet," Hojou whispered. "I'll stay out here and watch for when my brother comes out." He picked the office door open, allowing Inuyasha to walk in. 

     "Hojou-kun…" Kagome started before she walked inside of the office room. "Why are you…being so cooperative about this?" she whispered. 

     Hojou's eyes dimmed from happiness to an expression that she'd never seen on his face before. She couldn't quiet place it. "Read what the notes say," he whispered simply. "I think you would understand…" he muttered. "I don't know about your Inuwasha friend…but I think you would…You'll find them in a yellow folder under a pile of other papers on the desk." 

     Kagome gave him a short smile before she walked in the room. "I owe you one, Hojou," she said. 

     He shut the door softly behind her. "You owe me more than one, Higurashi," he muttered. At that, he sat on the floor, his back leaning against the corner, his forehead on his fisted hand, and his elbow resting upon his raised knee. 

       
     Kagome flicked the switch on, looking around for a couple of seconds. She looked at Inuyasha partially with humor and partially with anger. He was playing with a pendulum, his eyes staring intently as each ball swung here and there. He was staring at it with such intensity, his eyebrows curled upwards in question. 

     "Sugoi…" he muttered softly. [sugoi = teen talk for 'Cool'] 

     "Inuyasha, we're here for a reason. Stop joking around," she said, eyeing the desk keenly. 

     Inuyasha looked from the pendulum to her and back to the toy-thing again. Hearing a clearing of the throat from Kagome, he sighed, standing straight. "This room reeks of Sesshoumaru," he muttered. He walked around for a couple of seconds before standing next to Kagome as she started rummaging through things on the desk. "What are you doing?" he asked. 

     "Hojou-kun told me that there was information about Sesshoumaru here, I'm just trying to find it." She continued scanning through the messy desk. 

     Inuyasha cocked his eyebrow. "You and that Hohou kid seem pretty _close_," he muttered jealously. 

     Kagome rolled her eyes. "Yeah, close as in close friends, Inuyasha. Don't be such a hothead. I have nothing going for him. And it's Ho_jou_, not Hohou." 

     "And I suppose that you holding his hand is nothing?" he asked. 

     Kagome ignored his question. She cocked her eyebrow as she came upon a dark picture. "Shh," she muttered. She held the picture up to the light and, at closer inspection, noticed that there was a form in the picture. She could swear that she saw pearly white tresses. She dropped the picture on the desk and saw another picture. It was the quality was better this time, light shown in the picture. The light in the picture had a more bluish tone in it. 

     "What are you looking at," Inuyasha asked. "One of those 'fotoguraff' things?" 

     "Yes," she muttered. "But I can't exactly make out this picture either…" she muttered. She squinted harder, finally able to make out what was in the picture. Something at the pit of her stomache churned upside down as she stared intently at it. "Kami-sama…" she muttered. She dropped the picture and picked up another one. Looking at the three pictures together, she finally realized what it was. It looked like someone being struck with lightening…or being electrocuted. 

     "What?" he asked. 

     She handed the pictures to him without hesitation, grabbing at the folder that she finally found in the messy pile of papers. A few more pictures fell out, and she instantly covered them with a few sheets of paper. She didn't pay attention to Inuyasha's grunts as he looked at the picture, trying to figure out exactly what was going on in them. She opened the folder and looked at the hand-written notes in it. 

     Minutes later, Inuyasha became bored with looking at the pictures, so he looked over her shoulder. "What are you reading?" he asked. 

     She hushed him quickly, turning back to the notes as he sneered at her. She kept reading on, turning page after page. Her eyes grew wide with what she read, and her stomache only seemed to tighten. "Kami-sama…" she muttered after a while. "It's cruel…" 

     She and Inuyasha suddenly whipped their heads to the door as they heard an older man speaking. 

       
     "Hojou?" the younger man asked as he stepped out of the bathroom, a pair of pants and a t-shirt on. He saw his younger brother sitting on the floor looking fairly sick. Hojou looked up at him. "Hojou, what are you doing here?" he asked quickly. "Shouldn't you be at school?" 

     'Kami-sama, think of something! Quick, quick!' Hojou thought. "Takana, I really don't feel well…" he started. "I…threw up on the way to school and came back home a few minutes ago." 

       
     'Nice save, Hojou-kun,' Kagome thought as she stared at the door with wide eyes, her hands still gripping at the folder. 

       
     Takana's face chortled to one of concern. "Nee, was it something you ate?" he asked. 

     Hojou shrugged in answer to. "I don't know," he muttered softly. "I just don't feel well…" 

       
     Kagome suddenly turned to the desk again as a sheet of paper fell from it. She realized with growing horror that the many sheets of paper were near falling on the ground. 'Crap,' she thought. 'What to do, what to do?' She looked over at Inuyasha, who was staring at the paper as well. 

     "Kagome, get them before they fall," he whispered quickly. His ears perked at the conversation outside of the room. 

     "I can't," she whispered back, staring at him quickly. She nearly gave a yip the papers quickly and nosily fell to the ground. She and Inuyasha stared at the door again, their eyes widened. 

     'Wait, why am I nervous?' Inuyasha thought. 'What can a puny human do to me anyway?!' 

       
     Hojou and Takana turned to the office door, Hojou's face contorting to one of quiet horror. Takana took note of the light coming from under his office door. "Hojou…" he started slowly. 

     "…Yes?" he asked, looking up at his older brother with a weak smile. His smile wiped from his face as he saw the serious, angered look in his brother's eyes. 

     "Who's in there?" Takana asked, taking a step toward the office door. He cocked his eyebrow as Hojou suddenly stood up and held his hands in front of him. 

     "No—no one's in there," he said far too quickly, his eyes wide. 

     "Move," Takana muttered angrily. He pushed his younger brother out of the way, though Hojou objected, making it blatantly obvious that he was hiding something. He tried to open the door and noticed that it was locked. He glared at Hojou, then took the key from his necklace and unlocked the door. His eyes widened as he saw a school girl standing like a deer in head lights, the folder with his notes in her hand. 

     Kagome stared back at him, her eyes widened. "Ano…" she muttered. 

     "What are you doing with that?!" he yelled angrily. He quickly walked over to her, grabbing the folder from her hands. A clearing of the throat stopped him from grabbing onto her arm tightly. He turned to his side and gaped as he saw what stood before him. "Kami-sama!" he yelled quickly, taking a large step back. He quickly grabbed onto Kagome's arm, ready to pull her out of the room. "Move! That thing is dangerous!" he yelled. 

     "Takana," Hojou muttered as he walked next to his brother. "Let go of Kagome-chan." 

     Takana looked at him with wide eyes before staring at the white-haired male with pearly hair, his arms crossed. "What is this? Some sort of joke?" he asked quickly. He didn't wait for an answer. "Explain," he said heatedly turning to Hojou. 

     "Ano…" Hojou started. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kagome's booming voice cut him off. 

     "Are you the one that wrote these notes?!" she asked angrily, her eyebrows turned inward. She waved the closed folder in his face angrily. Both Inuyasha and Hojou took a step away from Kagome, knowing what sort of havoc she could reek. 

     "Give me those!" Takana yelled angrily, snatching the folder quickly from her hands. "Who gave you access to my room?" He asked. "Why are you—" 

     "How can you be so _cruel_?" Kagome asked angrily. "Baka!" she screamed. "What are you people _doing_ to Sesshoumaru?!" 

     Inuyasha looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. 'Exactly what did those 'notes' say?' he thought. 

     "You're one of them…" Takana said as he pointed to Inuyasha. "But you're not as wild…" he muttered in amazement 

     "Of course he isn't!" Kagome said, taking a step forward with her hands fisted in anger. "He's not caged up like some sort of lab rat like Sesshoumaru is!" She was shaking with anger. 

     "Caged?" Inuyasha said aloud at her words. A snort came from his throat before a smile came to his lips. "Sesshoumaru? Caged?" he repeated. 

     "It's not funny," Takana said as he glared at Inuyasha. Kagome, Hojou, and Inuyasha stared at him incredulously. 

     "If you don't like what is happening to him so much, then why do you allow it?" Kagome asked. 

     "It's not like I have a choice," Takana muttered angrily. "If I could I'd get him out of there." 

     "Don't lie," Hojou said. "You know that you enjoy these acts just as much as everyone else there does." 

     "Note, I did _before_," Takana said, glaring at his little brother. "But that doesn't mean that I feel the same_ now_…" 

     Kagome stared at him for a couple of seconds, trying to figure out if she could trust his words. 'Maybe…maybe he can…' she thought positively. "Then help us," she offered. 

     "What?" Hojou and Takana asked, turning to Kagome. 

     "Help us get him away from that place…" she said intently, her eyebrows drawing inward again. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, looking downward as his feet stuck to the 'fotoguraffs' as he called them. His eyebrow flew upwards as he saw the picture. He didn't quite like it. "You will, help us, right?" she asked. 

     Takana sighed before looking at Inuyasha again. "Who is he?" he asked. 

     "That's Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru's half brother," Kagome mentioned quickly. 

     "And…I can trust you…?" he asked dubiously. 

     "He doesn't belong there," Inuyasha muttered, his eyes fixated on the picture, his brows drawn inward. 

     "Please…" Kagome muttered softly after she turned from Inuyasha (as he spoke) back to Takana, her eyes boring into him deeply. "Please…" The look in Inuyasha's eyes had struck her deeply. 

     Takana looked over at Hojou and then at the other two. "I can really get into trouble if I do this…" he muttered, his hand scratching the back of his head. 

     "And he can die if you keep it up," Kagome added in. She heard a sound come from Inuyasha at her words, but she didn't look over at him. 

     "Fine," he said finally, breaking the tense moment. 

     Kagome smiled at his words. 'I feel awful for Sesshoumaru…' she thought. 'And Inuyasha…what's wrong?' A smile came to her lips. He was concerned, this she knew. 

– 

**A/N**: Hmm…maybe I'll just prolong things a bit… >:D. Nee~ I have so many reviews! *glomps you all* I LOVE YOU GUYS!! XD Well, here I go: 

_Tsume Yamagata: Er…since when does Sessh belong to you? >_> *grabs Sess and runs away maniacally*I really think there will be only one more instance where Sess, is hurt, which isn't even much, it's like…nothing. Next chapter, that it is ):D _

Darkbahamut: Actually, unlike Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru knows when a situation is futile ):D. So actually, he can give up, but I won't have him do that in my fic…to the most part. Well, Kagome and Inuyasha are on their way now, ne? Yay for them! 

Mintvee: Yes he does :D. It's sort of a shock that I had him know this way, isn't it? Some people asked me the weirdest questions ~_~. No, Hojou isn't the son of Mukai-san. Yah, the drug is a sort of submission thing. I've been reading these fanfics with collars being fanfics, though. I wonder why… *hides Sesshoumaru's collar quickly* ):D It's okay what you wrote about Rin/Sess. That's your opinion and you don't have to be sorry at all :D 

Lima Squamosa: Ah, change is good ~_~. No, Hojou isn't the general's son or Mukai's son. Ew. *belch* But yah, you found out :D I would take up on your offer of that sub sandwich, but I don't eat red meat. Er…in other words, the only kind of meat that I eat is seafood, not even like…chicken and turkey. I just stopped a couple years ago for reasons unknown to myself ;~;. XD, I'll go read your story :Dv 

Yun Fei: No, not trying to kill you…just making sure that you stay with my story >:D. No, Hojou isn't related to Mukai. Hmm…I don't think I'm answering that question anymore, you guys found out anyway ):D. And you're right, making Hojou the general's son would make the plot too complex. And don't forget that this story isn't an all AU. That would most likely make the story more AU than it already is. Thanks :D 

RedHerring: Hmm…psychological damage, eh? >:D. Hum hum….okay, well, er, I updated as quickly as possible :D! 

Evil-Miyu: Thanks! Of course they can save Sess! I mean…urg, what would the story be like if Sess stayed in the future forever? Poor thing…*hugs Sessh* 

RejEcteD AnGeL: >_>. You're name was so complicated to write XD. I had to look at it like 10 times while writing it ):D. Wow? Really? Hehe ~_~. I'm glad that my fic is so 'wow'ish, really. :D. Thanks for your comment. :D 

Shapeshifter Keioko: Hehe~ ~_~. I try :D. Now uh…Sess is gonna get better, just you see :D. Now…hide those claws *runs away* 

porifra: Yesh, yesh. I've heard many people say that my imagination should put me in a mental institution (seriously -_-;;), but that's okay ^-^. Well, you found the answer to your questions :D. 

marnika: Yaah! Thanks :D. Yah, this new year, I'm tryin' to bring out some better stuff… *cough* ):D 

Lord Fluffy: Hey~~. Er…I hope I've made your life better and not darker o_O ( >:D ). Well, Hojou's not that bad of a kid. He's so bashed…the poor thing. *hugs Hojou*. Then again, I can never bring myself to believe that a character is truly evil…:D. *runs away with Naraku* 

Crow T R0bot: ):D. Well, I don't think Japan today is too proud of past Japan. I really don't hear about them cavorting in the streets happily about how they caused so much pain to people. They're pretty ashamed with themselves. It's a pity, really, because they're trying to make up for it. And yah, Hojou's name is spelled with a 'u'. I've seen Japanese episodes. It may SOUND like Hojo, but the u is definitely there ~_~. Besides, I caught him from that pocket-bishounen webite (which has been like, taken down ;~;), and his name has the 'u' at the end. And another note, in the Japanese language, there is no 'l'. So, in Japanese, Kirara's name is…Kirara. Kilala just sounds like what they say in Japanese, and usually in dubs, they just go buy what the name sounds most like…so that's why her name is Kilala in ENGLISH. I'm going with the Japanese (wonders about Vegeta, which is actually Bejita in Japanese.). So yah, clearing that up ^-~ (I hope I didn't come on too strong ):D). Sesshoumaru is not going to get that far in the fanfiction o_O. He's staying in Japan ~_~. 

Miharu210: Er…Hojou IS nice. Poor thing, why do so many people not like him? ;-; 

Hitoriki-Sunny-Side-Up: Nee~I answered this in an email. *gives fingers a rest* 

fireash: I know what you mean. Sess is my favourite character too! How many people think that the show should be called Sesshoumaru (aside from the fact that he's so scarce in the show, but every time he comes on, it's SUCH a big deal :D)?? Yes, he'll be saved soon. He'll heal. Dun' worry :D 

bearmoon: >:D. I've got you thinkin' eh?? EH?! Muahaha~ *evil vixen laugh*Well wait no longer…until the next chapter >:D 

Okay, my fingers hurt from writing those reviews ):D. Ouchies…Well, anyway, thanks for reading :D. I hope you REVIEW…and don't forget to read my other Inuyasha fics :D AND my rewrite Cry in the Dark :D. Do it, it is ordered of you >:D! Ja matta, minna-san ~_~. I'm so happy, I got an A in Japanese. Woo! *pumps fist*   
  
  
  
  
  



	10. Plans

**A/N**: One of you asked what the picture was that Inuyasha saw. That's a good question. Guess what, though? It's up to you guys to decide. Alrighty then, you guys. Now we're just getting to the good stuff, okies? >:D. Just read it and see… 

– 

**Water and Blood **

~ 

    "I can really get into trouble if I do this…" he muttered, his hand scratching the back of his head. 

     "And he can die if you keep it up," Kagome added in. She heard a sound come from Inuyasha at her words, but she didn't look over at him. 

     "Fine," he said finally, breaking the tense moment. 

     Kagome smiled at his words. 'I feel awful for Sesshoumaru…' she thought. 'And Inuyasha…what's wrong?' A smile came to her lips. He was concerned, this she knew. 

- 

**

Chapter 10: _Plans_

**

     ~ 

     Kagome shuffled lightly as she sat in the van. She looked at Inuyasha for probably the 50th time since they'd gotten into the car, taking note that not even ten minutes had even passed yet. The poor thing was tightly holding onto the armrest as he stared out side of the window, his other arm tightly wrapped around his torso. He was pallor from the effects of never being in a car before. 

     "Are you sure you're fine?" she asked quickly as they hit a bump and Inuyasha seemingly melted into the chair, a sour look upon his face. 

     "If you have to ask me one more—" They hit another bump. "—Ugh…" he moaned. He'd kill Kagome when they got back to the feudal era, though. Either that or he would let some giant deranged youkai rip her limb from bloody limb, and he'd enjoy watching it. This thing was torturous, evil. 

     Kagome gave him a slight smile, joyously remembering how she and Hojou had to practically con him with bowls of steaming ramen before he got inside of the revved car. Before that, he'd obstinately argued that he wouldn't step foot inside of the 'veehikle' as he called it. 

     She wasn't presently wearing her school uniform, thankfully remembering how Takana offered her some clothes that their mother used to wear. Hojou had changed as well. Takana said that it would cut down the suspicion. 

     "We're close," Takana muttered over his shoulder, staring at the unpaved road in front of him. "Don't forget, when I get to the booth, don't make a single sound back there or the cover is blown. And cover yourselves up with the black sheet or else the guard will see you." He turned into another road, unpaved with trees here and there. "This place is always on guard for spies…" 

     "Takana-niichan," Hojou started, "exactly how are we supposed to even walk through the hallways if there are cameras everywhere?" 

     "Don't worry. I have access to the control room of the whole warehouse," Takana answered, his eyebrows drawn inward. "I'll freeze the frame and make it seem that the hallways are just empty." 

     "Wow…" Kagome muttered in amazement. Her stomache already churned from the situation. She felt like she was about to break into some sort of classified place full of guards here and there with danger lurking nearly ever corner that she would turn. Then again…she was. 

     "…You're controlling and freezing whose house?" Inuyasha asked out of the blue. 

     Everyone remained silent at his question. Takana slowed down a little. "Get under the sheets now. And don't make a single noise or else we're busted. I'm reaching the booth right now." He stopped to talk, slowing a little more to give the three more time in order to get under the darkened sheets. As he reached the booth, he gave a smile to the guard there, giving him his I.D. card and a sampling of his finger print. 

     After he drove past the first booth, he finally reached the old, broken down warehouse, making sure that he was far enough away from the booth just to play it safe. "Alright," he said softly. "You guys can get out now." 

     "Wow," Hojou started with a smile. "I can almost hear the American secret agent music playing in the background somewhere or another." 

     Inuyasha stared at him before snorting loudly. "Hojou-kun," Kagome started, "stop joking around. It's serious what we're doing. Don't make light of it!" 

     "I wasn't though…" he muttered softly, ducking his head low. 

     "If you two would stop quarreling," Takana stated. He handed a walkie talkie to Kagome. "There are camera's outside of the warehouse as well. After I take freeze the frames of the cameras, I'll tell you that it is safe to come. But you _have_ to wait for when I tell you. And make sure that the guard at the booth doesn't see you. When you get to the warehouse, walk in and go straight until you reach the end of the hall. After that, walk down the stairs to your left, not your right. Got it so far?" he asked. 

     Kagome stared at Takana for a few seconds after he spoke. "Uh…yeah…" she said with a weak smile. 

     "After you go down the stairs, and it's a long flight, you get to a door with a code number pad on them. They change every seven minutes so you can't open them. I'll have to give you the code number. But if I don't get you back, just stay there until I reach you again." 

     "Kay…" Kagome said in amazement. Maybe this situation was too complicated. 'Yeah,' she thought sarcastically, 'I'm able to battle against youkai and some hanyou bent on taking over the world, but I can't follow a few simple rules…My life just sucks…' 

     "After I get you guys in through those doors, you just have to follow me into the control room. We'll plan something after that, you with me?" 

     "Yup," Kagome answered. "Alright. Go, go. We'll wait." 

     Takana shrugged after looking at the three of them (and looking at Inuyasha rather suspiciously) and then opened his door. After he stepped out, he walked toward the warehouse. 

     "Hm…" Hojou started, "I would think that a place of scientists would be more efficient that some run-down warehouse…" he muttered. 

     "I agree," Kagome muttered. She turned to Inuyasha. 

     "Was he speaking proper Japanese?" Inuyasha asked in confusion. 

     "To you its improper, Inuyasha. But to us, we're used to it…" Kagome answered. 

     The three of them sat silently in the car, waiting for Takana to give the green light. Inuyasha looked around rather impatiently. "When is that bastard going to tell us to come?" he asked. 

     "Patience, Inuyasha," Kagome said after Hojou threw a glare at the hanyou. 

     Minutes later, the walkie talkie in Kagome's hand buzzed, making Inuyasha nearly jump away from her. Hearing Takana's voice on it, he inched toward it again and then glared at the device. "Alright, you guys, it's safe now." 

     At that, the three got out of the van quietly and ran inside of the warehouse so as to not be seen. "Alright," Kagome said to Takana through the device. "We're in. Just go straight down?" she asked. She looked at the two other hallways that branched at either of their side. 

     "Just straight down," Takana confirmed. "And go down the stairs to your left. Don't forget to wait for my next signal." 

     Inuyasha stared at the device again, his mouth agape. He followed Kagome as she did as told. When they reached the bottom of the steps, they waited. 

       
    

    "Takana," Dr. Mukai called at the retreating man. 

    Takana calmly turned around and gave a smile. "Ah, Mukai-san," he said. "Is there anything you want of me?" 

    "Well, not really, I was just going to tell you that in less than half an hour the General will be leaving with Sesshoumaru." The old man crossed his arms as he turned around to stare at the door that the youkai was in. "It'll be a pity; that is for sure, Takana." 

    "Why is that?" Takana asked, trying to keep up with the conversation so as to not sound suspicious of anything. 

     "Well, there were still so many things that we could have found out about our project, you know?" he asked. "This week seemed to pass by so very quickly. 

     "Yes, yes it has," Takana quickly answered, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Why was Asako slinging inside of the youkai's room? "I agree; there was probably something else we could have found out about Sesshoumaru." 

     Dr. Mukai gave a weak smile. "Well then…" he said as he smacked Takana's arm. "I'll be going into the laboratory to speak with the general." He walked away quickly after that. Takana breathed out a sigh of relief. Walking toward one of the doors, he hid behind it and stared at the room that Sesshoumaru was in, watching in suspicion as Asako walked inside. 

     Seeing it as nothing, he started walking toward the end of the hall, turning to his left and walking on until he reached the large metal doors. 

     He put his thumb print against his I.D. card and waited for the number to come up. He pressed the number into the code pad on the door and opened it. 

     Kagome nearly screeched as the door had opened, but when she realized it was Takana, she simply clasped her hand over her heart and stared at him. "Takana," she muttered. "You scared the crap out of me…" Inuyasha himself wasn't doing to well with the metal door. He was slightly hiding behind Kagome, his claws extended. 

     "Shh," he shushed them and then made a sign for them to follow. After getting checking at all if anyone was walking in the hallway, he sped into another hallway and into the control room with Inuyasha, Kagome, and Hojou following closely. He locked the door behind them and turned on the light. "This is harder than I thought…" he muttered. "I need the help of one other person…" 

     "Yeah, but who else can you trust to be on this side?" Hojou asked. "Everyone here works for Mukai-san, right?" 

     Takana paused for a while. "…The only person that I can trust is Asako…" he muttered. 

     "No, no! Women are the worst schemers when it comes to things like these!" Kagome practically yelled. The three men looked at her warily. "Ano…press on…" she muttered. 

     "We have to do this as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Word is that Sesshoumaru will be gone from here in less than 25 minutes from now." 

     "Where?" Inuyasha suddenly asked, his eyebrow cocked up in confusion. 

     "I'll explain it to you probably later, but right now, we have to get this done and over with. 

-

     The lights shut off. 

     The door opened and closed. 

     "You really are an interesting…specimen, youkai…" 

     Sesshoumaru's ears twitched at the woman's voice. Her sultry voice irked him. Her heels clicked toward his directions until she stopped in front of him. He could smell her human stench, even his sense of smell had weakened. 

     What Sesshoumaru could make of his senses practically screamed at trivial danger. He rattled the chains to somehow avoid the oncoming danger. His hair was wrenched almost tightly, but only a weak growl escaped from his lips. He was able to do nothing else. "So beautiful…" she muttered. 

     Asako began to tousle the clump of hair softly, taking in the natural, silky feel of it. She suddenly brought up the sweet smell of his clean hair to her nose. Pulling his hair from the side of his neck and pushing it behind his back, she stuck the syringe gun in his neck and pressed on the trigger softly so that only a little bit of the substance went into his blood stream. She waited for a few seconds as he began to calm slightly. "…Would you…listen to every…word I have to say…?" 

     Sesshoumaru slowly brought up his head and had vacant eye contact with her. "Yes…" 

     She blushed at his tender voice. "Please…" she started softly. She put her hand behind his neck and loosened the muzzle from his face before letting it fall to the ground. "…Kiss me…" 

     He couldn't stop himself as his face leaned toward hers, her warm breath stopping as she came closer to him in fear. He didn't want…this. His lips came to hers softly, so softly. 

     So soft…it was like she was kissing a pillar of feathers with the warmth of the sun. She nearly began to melt onto him. He pulled away seconds later. "Again…" she pleaded. She shut her eyes tightly. "Please…I just want to know…" She licked her lips. 

     "Y—" 

     She did it more forcefully to him this time. Her hand expertly trailed from his jaw line too his tail and clenched onto it tightly. The first time she had kissed him…, it was lovely…This time, it was electrifyingly painful; a 'look, but don't touch' feel. Her eyes clenched tightly when he whimpered quietly; she could practically feel his pain…, his anxiety…, and his desperation of not wanting to be here, of not wanting to be in this situation. 

     He had feelings like any normal being would. It hurt her that she was trying to take advantage of it. It hurt her that he was like a caged human being, not knowing where he was, what was going on, what was going to happen to him. It answered her pensive questions. 

     She ripped herself away from him in disgust with herself. "I'm sorry…" she said softly. "I'm so sorry…" she repeated. She stood up, distressed as he looked away from her in shame. She didn't want to see him in such pain that he was in now. 

     She'd be glad that he'd be released from this place come later in the day…or maybe she could do something else. She stood up and, after clasping the muzzle back over his mouth, walked to the door, furtively opening it in case someone was out there. When she saw that the coast was clear, she began to walk down the hallway. 

     She passed by the control room, thinking deeply about what she should do. She quickly whipped around as the control room opened and closed. "Takana!" she nearly yelled, her hand over her chest. "You scared me…" 

     "Nee, _Asako_, were you just in the room with the youkai?" Takana asked, emphasizing on her name. He didn't know that she was passing the control room, but this was the perfect opportunity. 

     "…Possibly…" she answered. "Why?" 

     "I was just wondering…" he answered. "What were you doing in there?" 

     "…Nothing really," she said, breaking eye contact from him. She took a few steps toward him and started quietly, being that she didn't know that the cameras were frozen, "Takana…I really don't think that it's safe for his health to become Kobayashi's little lap dog…" she muttered softly. "I can tell that he's just like any other human being." 

     "…I agree," Takana said, looking at her with nearly wide eyes. "And what are you going to make of it?" 

     She paused for a moment before looking around for a few seconds. "…I know that it's…taking a pretty big leap in chances. But…I'm thinking that…the only way to get the youkai out of here permanently and safely is to…eradicate him in the simplest way possible. Like putting him to sleep…" 

       
     Inuyasha's ears perked forward as he listened to the conversation on the other side of the door. A low growl came from his lips. He cursed under his breath. 

     "What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered in concern. 

     "I'm the only one who's going to kill that bastard," he muttered in a low voice. 

     "What do you mean?" she asked, her heart pacing quickly. "They're planning on killing Sesshoumaru?" She didn't like the inu youkai when it came down to it, but he wasn't as bad as he made himself. He actually proved to be helpful in times of need, surprisingly. So there was no chance that she wanted him dead. Especially not like this. Besides, she had Rin to think about. 

     Having mastered the many ways to open the futuristic doors, he nearly ripped the knob off as he opened the door quickly and stepped out. Before the woman could even let out a scream of horror, he grabbed her and hopped right back inside of the control room in near perfect agility, Takana following him closely and shutting the door. 

     The lights finally turned on fully, Asako's back was slammed against the door from Inuyasha's anger. "You have Sesshoumaru's scent all over you," he said quickly, his claws extending. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't rip your head off right now." 

     For some reason or another, Kagome and Hojou thought his tone was more threatening now than it was when he was threatening Hojou at the school in the morning. 

     Asako stared at Inuyasha with a pallor face, her breath quickening. "Wh—What's going on?" she asked softly as she stuttered. 

     "You have to trust us on this, Asako," Takana said calmly. "Let go of her, Inuyasha." 

     "Inuyasha, just do what he said," Kagome said, grabbing onto his haori. 

     Inuyasha turned to her angrily, a glare set about his eyes dangerously. "She has Sesshoumaru's scent all over her! Why shouldn't I kill her right now?!" he barked angrily. 

     Kagome looked over at Asako suspiciously. She _looked_ like trouble. "Fine…" she muttered. "But don't kill her." 

     Inuyasha's claws came near her face before she spoke. "I can help!" she nearly screamed. "I can help you!" 

     "Stop, Inuyasha," Kagome nearly screamed. 

     Inuyasha's claws stopped mere millimeters from her face. She breathed deeply. 

     "Can we trust you?" Kagome asked. 

     "Of course," she muttered. "Please get him off of me…" Instead, Inuyasha voraciously pushed her into the door again before letting her go. She turned to Hojou. "Aren't you Takana's little brother?" she asked. 

     "Hai," Hojou answered. 

     "Off with the trivial crap," Inuyasha said. "There are some other things to handle right now." 

     Asako suddenly looked at Inuyasha, and then at the two triangular tufts of fur coming from the top of his head. Something compelled her to quickly touch one of the things and that she did. 

     "Oi!" Kagome screamed. 'Those are my ears to touch only!' she thought. "Don't touch the ears!" 

     A growl came from Inuyasha. Asako pulled back. "I'm sorry…" she muttered. "I have this tendency with wanting to touch furry things…" 

     A curse came from Inuyasha's lips. "Why are we wasting time?" he asked angrily. 

     "All right, all right. I have a plan," Takana muttered. After Kagome had told him that Inuyasha was probably the only one that could touch Sesshoumaru's swords without being in pain minutes before Asako was pulled into the room, something had come to mind. 

     He gave his plans and everyone listened intently. 

     "You got it?" he asked. Everyone gave a nod of understanding. "Alright." He opened the door and calmly walked out after setting up the cameras quickly to see if anyone was roaming in the halls. After confirming that no one was going to be in the hallways anytime soon (other than the fact that the hallways were totally empty, suspiciously enough), he froze them again. 

     Kagome remained inside of the room as Hojou, Inuyasha, Asako, and Takana walked out. Asako walked the opposite direction toward the exit of the downstairs building with Takana's car keys in her hand and Hojou following her closely. She slipped the keys into her pockets before opening the giant medal doors (after pressing in the code) and closing it behind Hojou. 

     Takana had Inuyasha following him quickly and closely. They passed by a few doors before Takana stopped at one of them and used his I.D. card to open it up. After Inuyasha went in, he shut the door behind him and then went to the room that Sesshoumaru should have been in. 

     He looked opened the door quickly, then cocked up his eyebrow in pure confusion. He looked at his watch quickly. Why was the room empty? 

     "Takana?" Dr. Mukai said as he stood at the entrance of the room. 

     "Mukai-san," Takana said with worry etched in his voice. This changed everything. "Where is the youkai?" 

     "Oh…" Mukai said as he paused. "He's upstairs now. General Kobayashi has him now. They're pulling him to his Hummer." 

     'Crap…' Takana thought. 'We may be too late.' "Why are you down here then?" he asked in confusion. "Shouldn't you be up there as well?" 

     "Oh yes," Mukai answered. "I'm just here to get Sesshoumaru's swords and clothing. They won't leave without those items." 

     Takana panicked quickly before trying to think up something. At least it brought him time if Mukai didn't have the items yet. He nearly fainted in horror as Mukai stepped away from the entrance and walked toward the room with Sesshoumaru's items in it. He ran after Mukai and stopped as the old man got ready to open the door. Inuyasha was in there! 

     "Mukai-san!" he screamed. 

     "What?" Mukai asked as he cocked his eyebrow at the younger scientist. 

     "Uh…why don't you, uh…Go upstairs to General Kobayashi," he started. Mukai was about to object as he pointed to the door. "It's fine, I'll bring those things up." 

     "…Fine then," Mukai said with a short smile. He then walked from the hallway to the next. 

     Takana waited to hear the sounds of the metal door closing before he let out a breath of relief. He quickly opened the door and saw Inuyasha standing there with the aforementioned items in his hands. "Things have changed," he muttered. 

     "How so?" Inuyasha asked. 

     "General Kobayashi is leaving right now," he said, walking away from Inuyasha and going to the control room to open it for Kagome. He repeated what he said to Kagome. 

     "But that means that we don't have any time, then!" Kagome said in panic. "What about Asako? Isn't she there in the parking lot? They'll catch her and Hojou!" 

     "No, she's not in the same parking lot. Kobayashi parked on the other side of the building in the forested area," he answered. 

     "So what are we going to do?!" she asked. "We don't have any time." 

     "No, we have time," Takana said. "Kobayashi won't leave without Sesshoumaru's items." He pointed to the things in Inuyasha's hands, which was rather ironic. 

     "So what do we do?" Kagome asked. "Kami-sama…" she muttered, "this is definitely harder than fighting any youkai…" 

     Takana chose to ignore her statement. "Now…we just hit them head on…" He looked at Inuyasha. "How strong are you?" he asked. 

     "Stronger than Sesshoumaru," he stated proudly. 

     Kagome jabbed him in his side with her elbow. "Just because you cut off his arm doesn't mean anything," she muttered. "Don't be such a hot head. He could have killed you three times by now. And you know he let you off the hook." 

     "Keh," Inuyasha said as he turned away. "Lies." 

     "You two," Takana started. "Back to what I was saying, we may have to hit them head on. And if you're stronger than your brother, then that'll be of great help. How high can you jump, by the way?" 

-

     Sesshoumaru turned toward the warehouse building obstinately. Maybe his nose was playing with his senses, but he could smell that bastard brother of his as well as his human wench. Either way, he knew that it was kind of late now. He stopped walking (or what should have been called weakly stumbling), pulling against the two leashes that clasped tightly to the collar around his neck. He couldn't stand correctly without feeling as if he would fall straight to the ground. He felt weakened. 

     General Kobayashi swiftly turned around, a scowl on his features. He forcefully tugged on the leashes in his hands, making Sesshoumaru nearly stumble. "Don't stop walking," he said angrily as the youkai turned in his direction again. "Such disobedience," he muttered after a while, tugging on the leashes again. 

     Sesshoumaru stared behind the warehouse at the city in the distance which he'd made wreckage of some time ago. That cursed well did this to him. If it wasn't for those two blasted shards he wouldn't have ever been in this situation. He should have killed Kagura instead of taking his chances with those two shards. A painful tug from the collar around his neck brought him away from his thoughts, his neck nearly snapping from the force. 

     Seconds later, a sting at his neck brought him to turn around almost calmly. As his mood began to mellow and his eyes took up vacancy, the thoughts in his mind came to a halt. 

     Kobayashi tugged at the leashes again after putting away the subjugation syringe gun. "Follow," he ordered tersely as he continued walking on. When he felt no opposite force, he smirked. He made sure that he gave Sesshoumaru a large, concentrated dose of the subjugation formula. He clasped the two leashes onto the back of his pick-up Hummer* truck and then pointed to the back. "Get in." 

     Sesshoumaru suddenly looked up at the trees as he did as told unwillingly and weakly. Something was up there. He could smell it. He looked down from the trees to the human suspiciously, who was placing his weapons and other clothing on the back of the pick up. The human (Takana) had an odd scent on him…oddly familiar. 

     If not seconds after the engine of the vehicle was revved up and the back of the pick up was closed, a figure clad in red and white landed on the ground from above, sliver hair waving familiarly. Another figure clad in red and yellow hung off of his back. 

     A commotion began. 

– 

*I don't own the Hummer. Although I wish I had one… 

**A/N**: Wah~~ This chapter was reaaalllly hard for me to write. I mean, it was ridiculously hard to write. Hehe~ >:D. That scene with Asako and Sesshoumaru was something that I had planned from the beginning of this whole story. I'm glad to have finally used it. She like…lip raped him >_> *kill*. Well anyway, action in the next chapter. And uh…probably some blood. ~_~. Just you wait. >:D. 

_crystal singer: Thanks :D I try. Going berserk around Inuyasha…may happen… _

Tsume Yamagata: I know, I'm evil >:D. Well anyway, I'm thinking only two more chapters before I'm done with this story, maybe three, thankfully. And uh…let's have some sort of…like…agreement. We'll share Sess, half and half :D. *steals his head, clothes, and tail* You can have the rest of him >:D 

fireash: Yah, I think we're all glad :D. Sess needs to be freed from this place *sigh*. And Inuyasha just doesn't want to seem like he cares, but he definitely does… 

marnika: Hehe~ You'll have to wait and see >:D. 

RedHerring: Yah, I just had to write the pendulum part o_o;; And Inuyasha luvs his big brother…then again…they practically fight to the death in the third Inuyasha movie (but neither of them die.) Hm…Sessh as a psycho would probably grate me emotions for the rest of my life ;~; 

Lord Fluffly: Thank you~ *glomp* The scientists are to be handled. Soon. Very soon. As in next chapter soon >:Dv. 

Keika no Kaiyou: Nee~~, Sesshoumaru-sama, Keika-chan knows where you live…  
Sesshoumaru: Keh…I live everywhere and nowhere.  
W. Ramen: And that would be…?  
Sess: *embarrassed* The forest… 

Kitsune Bi 123: It's okay that you didn't review :D. It's not like I'm gonna penalize you for that now or something…o_O. Yeah…uh…it's such a shame that the torture ended…o_O;;. Yah, I've read a good number of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru brother to brother fics. Some of them are pretty good. Other ones turned into yaoi oh so slowly X| *hates yaoi*. 

Evil-Miyu: No, they'll attempt…probably. But they won't catch him. That'd prolong the story too much… 

bearmoon: Hehe~ ~_~. It's up to your imagination to think of what was in the picture >:D. Yah, I realized that there wasn't a single scene with Sess in it at all…and I was appalled! Sesshoumaru is the main character of this story XD. But uh, yeah…hehe ~_~. I'm just the one to write this…nothing came to my mind of torturing Sesshoumaru *coughs and looks away* Okay, so the scientists made me do it…And I'm falling in love with my chemistry class XD. Thanks! Our midterms might be pushed back one week though. You'll figure out why if you read my bio o_O. Anyway, I learn Japanese from a community college. I'm a high school student challenger. And I get credits o_O;; 

anhimals: Thank you :D. I try :D. Nee~~! Fluffyshipping forever! >:D. No Kag/Sess!! Ew XD. Yah, I'm finding time >:D *does homework at school as much as possible* 

ShiAne: Pwee~~ You like…reviewed a good number of chapters! *hugs glomps and more hugs* XDXD. Why did you tell me what masochism and sadism is? You're…you're a masochist, aren't you?! You take joy in Sesshoumaru-sama's pain! *runs away crying* And what do you mean, "I love character torture as long as the resist?" I dun' understand X3. And what's a hemophobe?? Did you mean homophobe?? Yah, I'm homophobe in a way too, and my imagination was bouncing off the walls when I wrote the 7th chapter =_= x_x. And I didn't understand the end of your chapter 8 review. Please elucidate. And finally, yes, Hojou has some depth to him. He's not as stupid as people portray him. There's an anime that reminds you of this?? What? What?! I WANNA KNOW XDXD 

Miharu210: Thank you XD. *plays secret agent music in backround* Dadada~~ dadada~~ dadada~~ dada! I agree. Hojou is cute. But he definitely needs to figure out that Kagome doesn't like him. Other than that, he's okay to me :D. 

porifra: Nee~~ *glompies* XD. I know, it was rather cruel of Inuyasha, but what can I say…I'm not THAT evil, am I? >:D 

Shapeshifter Keioko: …:D. I don't know. What did I do wrong?! All I did was answer a review! *runs away crying* 

Pwee~ ~_~ I'm getting so many reviews for this story now. Over 15 reviews for one chapter o_O. I think I might have a heart attack o_o;; Oh, oh, please read my story, Silent Echoes, which is a Rin/Sess pairing fic. As well as Cry in the Dark, a remake of one of my older stories that I decided needed to be redone (=_=), and Black Heart, a Sango/Miroku pairing fic, and Come What May, a Kikyou/Suikotsu pairing :D. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	11. You're Safe

**A/N**: Dude…you guys are like, trying to kill me, aren't you?! Your REVIEWS!! I reached over 20 reviews for ONE chapter o_O XDXD Happy. I'll get right into the chapter this time >:D. I love you all. Only one more chapter after this. By the way, I'm in school right now, having emailed this chapter to myself. It's exam time :Dv! 

- 

**Water and Blood **

~ 

    Sesshoumaru suddenly looked up at the trees as he did as told unwillingly and weakly. Something was up there. He could smell it. He looked down from the trees to the human suspiciously, who was placing his weapons and other clothing on the back of the pick up. The human (Takana) had an odd scent on him…oddly familiar. 

     If not seconds after the engine of the vehicle was revved up and the back of the pick up was closed, a figure clad in red and white landed on the ground from above, sliver hair waving familiarly. Another figure clad in red and yellow hung off of his back. 

     A commotion began. 

~ 

**Chapter 11: _You're Safe…_**

     Kobayashi put his car into drive, not realizing what was going on behind him. After a couple of seconds of driving, he stopped as he heard screaming coming from behind. He opened his door quickly and stepped out, conceiving that there was a commotion out there. His eyes widened as he saw someone similar to Sesshoumaru, a bit shorter, but clad in red and white, and some girl. 

     Already there were three people lying prostrate on the ground with blood on their body, breathing nonetheless. 

     Inuyasha jumped from the person's body to the old man who was running away in clear panic. "Oi, bastard!" he screamed angrily. He finally pounced right in front of the man. 

     Mukai blanched as the 'youkai' stood in front of him. "Kami-sama!" he screamed. "Please, please don't hurt me!" He took a step backward. 

     Inuyasha threw a quick glance at Sesshoumaru, who was sitting in the truck with a more than indifferent, vacant look about him; then turned back to the old man, his claws extending. In clear anger, he struck the man down. The blood spurted in different directions. 

     "Inuyasha, don't kill him!" Kagome screamed as she kicked at one of the men advancing on her. After she noticed that even though he was down he had called for reinforcement, she kicked at the device in his hand, crushing it, before she kicked him as well. Her eyes wide, she moved out of the way as one of the men struck at her. 

     Inuyasha ignored her words and struck out at the man even though down. "I ain't gonna kill ya'," Inuyasha said while wiping some blood from his face, "but I'll make sure that ya' can't do something like this again!" He nonchalantly threw the man over his shoulder. 

     Kobayashi took out the gun at his waist in a panic, shooting fruitlessly at the red-clad 'youkai'. The gun from his hand was knocked away as Mukai landed on top of him. 

     In an act of anger and panic, Kobayashi pulled the electric device from his pocket and stared at the mauled body of Mukai. The old man let out a guttural, bloodied scream as he fell to the ground in pain. Kobayashi looked from the old man to the electric device and pressed all of the buttons, not knowing which one did what. 

     Sesshoumaru had long attempted to climb out of the back of the pick-up Hummer, though weakened. He was hearing Kobayashi tell him to attack the 'intruders', but at the same time, he was hearing Inuyasha tell him to move out of the way. The orders confused him and he didn't know which one to fulfill. As he climbed out and his feet touched the ground, a searing pain suddenly over came in, making him double over as he grabbed onto the collar around his neck. 

     Inuyasha shortly paused in his movements and watched in quiet shock as Sesshoumaru leaned forward in evident pain. Ever more could he smell the blood coming from Sesshoumaru. 

     He put two and two together as he saw the General pressing on the electric device, and looked at Sesshoumaru once more. He sped toward the general, his bloodied claws extending toward him. His intent wasn't even to kill the man, it was to rip that thing from his hands. He landed on top of the general and the device fell from his hands, upside down, the pressure of the weight of it still pressing down on the buttons. 

     He picked up the general by his collar and threw him to the side. "Break it!" Inuyasha yelled as he pointed to the device. Kagome instantly ran over it to step on it. 

     She stepped on it but only dented it. "I can't, Inuyasha, I can't!" she screamed in confusion. She picked up the device and threw it to the ground a few times. "I can't do it." 

     Inuyasha gave a kick to the general before extending his claws. He threw the device into the air and jumped after it. "Sankontessuou!" He looked around for a couple of seconds after he landed and the pieces fell around him, then threw a quick glance at Sesshoumaru before the black van that he had ridden in before pulled up with a screech. 

     Hojou opened the back of the van doors from the inside. "Quick, get in!" he screamed in a hurry. "The guard called for a lot of back up!" 

     Inuyasha didn't know what he meant, but from the sounds of it, it was nothing good. Takana grabbed Sesshoumaru's clothing and threw it inside of the van, Hojou jumping out of the way with his eyes wide as the spikes nearly jabbed him. Inuyasha grabbed onto the swords and placed them in the back of the van before he grabbed up Sesshoumaru and placed him (gently) into the back of the van. 

     "I'm staying!" Takana yelled as Inuyasha and Kagome jumped into the back of the van. "They'll be asking too many questions. I have to stay." He briskly shut the door after that and smacked the back of the car. Asako sped off. 

     Sesshoumaru's constricted breathing was the only sound inside of the car as the van sped onward toward Kagome's house. The blood began to pool from his lips and neck and saturated into the carpeting of the van. 

     "What's wrong with him?" Kagome asked in a panic as she looked at Asako. 

     Asako simply looked in the rear view mirror before turning her attention to the road again. "It is a subjugating, constriction collar," she muttered. "It tends to have lasting effects for up to five minutes after the button has been pressed, depending on how long the button on the device was pressed…" 

     "I don't understand…" Hojou muttered, staring with wide eyes. "What is it doing this to him…?" 

     "It's cutting off his flow of air by tightening around his neck," she elucidated. 

     "…Why is he bleeding?" Inuyasha asked. 

     Asako paused. "There are jagged spikes driven into his neck as well as shocks of electricity…" she muttered in shame. 

     "Why won't it stop?" Kagome asked with panic rising within her. "What can we do to make it stop?" 

     "We can't do anything for it right now," Asako answered. "We have to wait it out…" 

     Kagome paused. "Why…would you people want to do this to him?" she asked as she turned to the other female. Her eyes brimmed with sadness. 

     Asako let out a loud sigh. "General Kobayashi was planning to take Sesshoumaru as his own, a sort of lap dog to do his dirty deeds…" 

     "Which would be?" Hojou asked curiously. 

     "Kobayashi-sama…he was planning on using Sesshoumaru…so that he could conspire against the American forces by killing their presidential leader…And if war was to start from this…Kobayashi would use Sesshoumaru's alternate form as a means against them, lest he die." 

     Kagome and Hojou widened their eyes as they took in her words. Japan had been in an alliance with America for 45 years now! Why would the general want something like this? It was absolutely senseless… 

     They all watched (with the exception of Asako) helplessly as Sesshoumaru (whose back was turned to them as he faced the doors), struggled to catch a breath, his body giving a few twitches intermittingly and his pleading sounds of air not passing their ears. As he lay on his side, the clawing of the carpeting was heard, as if he was trying to take his mind away from the pain. His knee nearly touched his chest as he curled into himself to quell the pain. 

     When everything seemed to stop a minute later and he calmed down with a last choke, his raucous breathing was the only sound to be heard. He lay on his back. 

     Sesshoumaru's heart was beating so loudly and quickly that Inuyasha wasn't the only one to hear it. His usually cat-like eyes were dilated as he continued to stare upward, breathing deeply with his claws clasped around the collar. It was slowly loosening, and the three took notice of the blood that further poured from the wound and the sound of bloody flesh. His body shook violently. That was the worst that the constriction device had ever done to him. 

     Kagome held back her hand for only seconds. After another short while, she let her hand waver over him before she placed it softly on his chest to steady his fast heartbeat. Her eyebrows furrowed inward in heartache as he softly flinched from her touch. "Kami-sama…" she muttered softly. There was a short pause after she spoke. His asthmatic breaths quickened once more. 

     Inuyasha was relieved right now that he was the only one in the vehicle who had a sixth sense. Everyone else would have felt the 'emotions' of Sesshoumaru right now; his pain…and— 

     "He's…so _aloof_…" Kagome continued remorsefully. She then softly placed a hand on his forehead, which was heated and sweaty. His eyes contracted slightly from her touch. "And he's ill…or something…" 

     She looked quickly over at Inuyasha as he gave a soft grunt. He caught her looking at him, which compelled him to look out the window. 

     'Inuyasha…' she thought with the tiniest smile on her face. 'Arigatou…' 

     She looked back down at Sesshoumaru as he continued to breathe deeply, shivering lightly. It hurt her to see him like this. She'd never thought the day would come when she would feel bad for him…or even see him in such a situation. "It's okay…" she started softly. Inuyasha turned to her and then looked down at his older half brother. 

     "You're safe…" 

     The inu youkai's eyelids began to softly fall over his glassy eyes. 

-

     Asako stopped the car and everyone stepped out. "Alright, I'm leaving the van here. We'll have to walk the rest of the way to your place Kagome. Just to keep it safe." 

     "But Sesshoumaru can't walk…" Kagome objected. 

     Inuyasha grunted before standing straight. He gently grabbed Sesshoumaru, the two swords tied around his waist. Kagome grabbed the clothing with a hidden smile and the four of them were off, trying to evade contact from other people. 

     Kagome arrived to their home if not minutes later. She quickly opened the door, allowed everyone to get in, and shut it. "Kasaan!" she called quickly. "Jii-chan!" She ran to her bathroom and grabbed some towels before ordering Inuyasha to place Sesshoumaru on her couch, placing the towels behind the youkai's neck. 

     "Come here quick!" Kagome yelled. 

     "Kagome? What are you doing home?" Kagome's grandfather asked. He walked into the room and saw Inuyasha there, as well as someone bloody on their couch. "Oh, well isn't that nice?" he asked. 

     Kagome glared at him slightly. Her mother walked into the room quickly. "Kagome? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at school?" 

     "I'll explain things later, kasaan, but we need to help him right now." She pointed at Sesshoumaru, who was slightly shivering, his eyes glossed over and his hand covered in blood. 

     Higurashi-san gasped as she saw the bleeding man on her couch. Without hesitation, she ran out the room to find a first aid kit. 

     "Ooh, I feel the presence of a youkai," Kagome grandfather said. He pulled out some ofudas. "Youkai be gone! Flee, flee!" He ran out of the room, trying to figure out where he 'sensed' the aura of the youkai. 

     Higurashi-san returned with the first aid kit and a pail with warmed water and a cloth. At that, Inuyasha got up and left the room to find Buyo before he went up the Goshinboku. 

     Kagome noticed but decided not to follow him. "Hojou-kun…" she started. 

     "Hai?" he asked. 

     "I really don't think we'll need you for anything else…" she mentioned. "Thank you very, very much for being so cooperative with us. I really appreciate it." She gave him a short hug, which he returned. "You don't understand how thankful I am…" 

     Hojou smiled and blushed as he looked away. 

     "But Hojou…please, don't tell anyone about this…you here me?" she said. "Don't ever tell _anyone_." 

     Hojou simply stood and with the simple nod of his head, he walked toward the front door and left. "Ja ne," he muttered with a soft smile before leaving. 

     Kagome then turned back to Sesshoumaru, then cocked her eyebrow in confusion as a gurgling sound came from his throat. Thankfully no one was right next to him, because he next threw up. His eyes then closed as his breathing steadied. 

     "Oh no!" Kagome yelled. "He's _very_ ill!" 

     "He's not ill…" Asako muttered softly. "His body is simply trying to purge itself of all of the chemicals…" 

     Kagome turned to her and glared at her for a short while before turning back to Sesshoumaru. "Well then since you are part of the cause of this, you wouldn't mind cleaning that mess then, would you?" It was more of an order than a question. 

     Asako wordlessly did so right away. 

     Higurashi-san didn't ask for an explanation. She knew that she had to help Sesshoumaru. Trying to clean at the wounds from the collar and clean the blood, she found it nearly impossible. "Is there a way to remove these things?" she asked. She also looked at the metal band around his wrist and then at the ones around his ankles. 

     Asako paused and looked over at her. "Possibly…Mukai-san was practically the only one to use these. But…" She looked at the ones around his wrists and ankles and played with them a bit. "There…" she muttered. "Those are off." She tried to take off the one around his neck but found it nearly impossible. "I can't do that one though." 

     Kagome sighed, as well as her mother. Asako looked at them and back at the collar once more. Seeing a circular form where one of the sickles were, she pressed on it and twisted it around a little. Surprisingly so, the collar unclasped from around his neck and fell on the floor. 

     "Good. Now you can leave," Kagome said briskly. 

     "But—" Asako started. 

     "Kagome!" Higurashi-san said in shame. "She helped you guys! Don't treat her so rudely!" 

     "And then again, she's the one who helped get Sesshoumaru in this situation. And I don't think he'd take it lightly if he was to wake up fully in strength and see one of the people that captivated him. He'll attack her. It's best that she leaves, before my nerves are ground any further." 

     "I totally understand…" Asako muttered as she stood up after finishing cleaning the mess that Sesshoumaru had made. "I agree with Kagome. Besides, they'll be looking for me soon. I don't know how you'll get Sesshoumaru away, but they'll look for me and find me here. It's best that I leave…" 

     She walked toward the front door but turned around to stare at Sesshoumaru one time. 

     Kagome noticed, and it compelled her to move in front of him. "Thank you for your assistance," Kagome finally said. She took to note how Asako stared at Sesshoumaru still. Like she was losing something precious to her. "Please leave." 

     At that, Asako gave a short nod before opening the front door and leaving. 

     Higurashi-san didn't pay attention. She was working on the deep, charred wounds around Sesshoumaru's neck. "This is awful…" she muttered. "Who could do this sort of thing…?" she asked. 

     "Scientists…" Kagome muttered. "Dirty ones." 

     Higurashi-san shook her head in pity as she continued to work with further wounds on the rest of his body. Kagome stood up and left after her mother asked her to do so, a blush on her nose when her mother mentioned something about pulling of his clothing to get on some more bandages. 

-

     "Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she looked up Goshinboku. "Inuyasha…" 

     "What?" he asked gruffly. 

     "Thank you…" she muttered. "Very much." 

     "Why? What good does it do to you?" he asked. 

     "It doesn't do me any good," Kagome answered with a short smile. "But you're going to make a little girl very happy." 

     "Keh," Inuyasha muttered. 

     "Inuyasha…" she started. 

     "What?" he asked more irritably than before. 

     "Aren't you at all bothered by this?" she asked. "I mean…you seem so…distant about it…" She walked toward the tree and tried to climb up to sit with him. After a failed attempt, she tried once more, but got a helping hand from Inuyasha as he pulled her up. She sat next to him on the thick branch. "But at the same time…you seem to be thinking about it a lot…" 

     "How can I not be?" Inuyasha asked. 

     "What do you mean?" Kagome asked in return. 

     Inuyasha paused for a short while, but then started, "The fact that I've never…seen him like that before. I mean…I couldn't ever imagine him like that." 

     "…Some things change different beings…" Kagome reasoned. 

     Inuyasha looked away. "I hated the look in his eyes," he muttered angrily. "I'll admit; I don't like Sesshoumaru at all. But he's still my older half brother. Seeing him….like that…is just strange…and different." 

     He paused and his eyes widened in shock as Kagome looked back at him with tears nearly in her eyes. "Inuyasha…" she started, her voice shaking. 

     "Don't you cry for that bastard, Kagome," he said angrily, his eyebrows drawn inward. 

     Kagome gave him a short smile before giving him one of her rare hugs. "I'm not! But it's awful, Inuyasha…" she muttered softly. "I can't stand seeing anyone like that…" She let go of him before looking away. "I mean…when I was looking at him in the car, I was thinking to myself, 'Kami-sama, what if this was Inuyasha…? What would I do if this was Inuyasha…?' And I couldn't stop thinking about that. I couldn't stop thinking about what I would do if you were in that situation…" 

     Inuyasha remained quiet as he stared at her. "Kagome…" he muttered softly. "I won't let you worry like that." 

     "Thank you for doing this for Rin," she said again. "This was the only reason I wanted to do it at first, because of Rin. But after I saw Sesshoumaru…Kami-sama…it's a scary thing. I hope he'll come out okay in the end. And Rin…I hope that she…" 

     "Stop talking about it, Kagome," Inuyasha muttered. "Just…shut up for now." 

     The two of them sat there for a long amount of time, neither of them could tell. But because of the fact that it had gotten hotter and colder as time passed, it was easy to say that they sat together silently for hours. 

     A screeching noise put the both of them at alert. Inuyasha jumped down, Kagome on his back, and ran inside. Higurashi-san was cornered in the living room with Sesshoumaru staring down at her with a feral look, his claws extended toward her and acid seeping from his fingers onto the floor. 

     "Sesshoumaru—no!" Kagome called out harshly as his hand came close to her mother. 

     Sesshoumaru instantly turned around with the dangerous look in his eyes. At the sight of Inuyasha and his wench, Kagome noticed the instant look of _relief_ that slowly dripped over his eyes. 

     "Inuyasha…" Sesshoumaru muttered lowly. "Hnh." He dropped his hand to his side. 

     "You should thank him for saving your sorry butt, Sesshoumaru!" Kagome said as she glared at the youkai. 

     "Keh," Inuyasha said at the words. "Just get your clothes changed and get your stuff 'cause we are leaving later today!" Inuyasha ordered. 

     Too quickly for anyone to assess, Sesshoumaru rushed in front of him with a deep glare. "This Sesshoumaru is tired of taking orders from those below," he said angrily, grabbing onto Inuyasha by his collar. "Those bastard humans will all die by this Sesshoumaru's hands before anything else is done." 

     "Oh yes, and I'm so sure that you'd love to be caught again," Kagome said sarcastically. "You go back there and it will start all over again, if not become worse. It's your choice if you want to be a lap dog and follow orders against your own will. So go ahead!" Kagome pointed to the front door. 

     Sesshoumaru took a step toward the front door, not letting the human's words affect him in the least. "You're too weak now, Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha said. "It'll just be easier for those humans if you go back there." 

     The words cut down on Sesshoumaru's pride. He stopped and turned toward Inuyasha. "Hnh…" he muttered. He simply let his knuckles crackle as he passed by the hanyou, picking up his items and walking away. 

     Kagome sighed in relief. "I think that's his way of telling you that you're right, Inuyasha," she muttered after a while. 

     "Yeah, sure…" Inuyasha muttered. "No one can do a single good thing for that bastard…" he muttered angrily. "Else he rubs it back in your face with that snobby, arrogant pride of his." 

     "Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered, walking toward him. Her mother got up after a while and hobbled toward the couch weakly to clean up a bit and take a seat from the scare. "Don't forget that his 'pride' was wounded for six days…I don't blame him for trying to fix it again…" 

     "Keh." 

-

     Sesshoumaru stood inside of the shrine near the well, this accursed thing that'd brought him here. His claws extending, he ripped at the clothes he had on right now. After doing so, he gave a lick at the wounds on his hand from the blades on the collar. Touching softly at the gauze around his neck, he couldn't help to think of how relieved he was that he was inside the house of Inuyasha's wench and not some other place. 

     He put on his elegant clothing ever so slowly, taking in the feel that he never thought he'd have again. For a while back at that accursed place…he really didn't know what was to come of his future. He really thought that some petty human would own him, as disgusting as that sounded. 

     When he finished clothing himself, he sat down on the ground and leaned his back against the well, waiting to get back to how he was before. His eyes closed as he leaned his head back, and the sigh of relief came quietly from his lips after giving a slight touch to his two swords. 

– 

**A/N**: Dude, this chapter was so much harder to write than the last. I was trying to keep everyone in character, I really hope I did a job well done at it. Sometimes it's hard keeping Kagome and Inuyasha in character, but yah. The part in the van had my stomache churning…seriously…I really wanted to cry for Sesshoumaru. Review responses: __

fireash: Psychiatric help would work :D. But in this case…I'm…not very sure ):D 

Crow T R0bot: Yes, good, topic drop is good :D. Now…making Inuyasha and Kagome chase after Sesshoumaru would sort of pull realism away from the plot and extend it far too much. I didn't really want to do that… =_= And yes, Kilala is just about the only dubbed name in the show…other than the fact that they pronounce the names VERY wrong >_> 

Tsume Yamagata: Hehe ~_~. Another review is always good :D. See, I'm taking time to update even though this is my week of exams =_= 

Lima Squimosa: :D. I still need to read the other chapters, though. I only read the first couple XD. 

RedHerring: Hehe ~_~, and I do that cuz not only does it keep you on your toes, but it ensures me that the next chapter will be read >:D 

bearmoon: Will Sessh…hmm…his mind is far too clouded to anything else. Hehe, I worked on the kissing scene for a long time and I tried to make it perfect :D. Reviewing character profiles would be pretty fun, but there's no way to do it. 

Miharu210: Yes, it is a strange sight indeed :D. 

Yamitamashii: Asako isn't all that bad. Okay…maybe she is…but yah' know :D. Nope, Inuyasha knows better than to murder in Kagome's time. Human lives actually count >_> *snaps fingers* 

Lord Sesshoumaru: Okily dokily then :D 

Kay's Craft: :O? Is my story that good? Hehe ~_~ *blushes* Thank you for your encouraging words ;D 

purplepeopleeater: Hehe, I've updated >:D 

Kivrin: And he's saved XD 

ReJeCtEd AnGeL: Yah, he's gonna be a little broken in the next chapter ;-; 

porifra: >:D>:D>:D>:D>:D. I'm UBER evil…>:D. I don't know…it could very well be Sesshoumaru's first kiss. In that case, Asako really did lip rape him >_> Sisters can be the utmost evil, I would know…with two older sisters…Ew… 

anhimals: Hehe >:] 

Cacat Angel: Oh…my…goodness…YOU REVIEWED!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! *gives a giant hug* Yah, I stopped putting A/Ns in the actual story and just waited for afterward, or put a little star sign and made a footnote for it. Thanks, though :D. Yah, I think that Project Fluffy is a little too uh…what's the word…?Satirical on the actual subject…I'm just going to change it to Project F…:D 

Koki: >:] Am I really? Does this mean that you no longer want to read my story? ):3… 

Breschandra: Okily dokily then :D 

Mintvee: Yes, she is. She took advantage of poor chained Sesshoumaru… 

Well, guys, this is almost the end of my story. Just one more chapter to go, and I don't really think that the 12th chapter will be all that long :\ Well see, though. Anyway, I was just hoping that you guys would read my other stories, and if you'd like, you can read my Sess/Rin story that I will be updating after my exams. And I'll be updating Black Heart as well, as soon as I am able :D.   
  
  
  
  
  



	12. Missing You

**A/N**: Wee! Snow day XD (1/28). We had a violent snow storm up here ):D. Yah, well, this is our third snow day within 3 weeks, so now we have to add on a day of school =_=. Anyway, midterms are over! But I got a C (2 questions away from a B!!) on my chem exam. I'm glad they only count 1/6 now instead of 1/3 of our grade. The C won't bring down my grade at all XD. Wee! Anyway, here we are, at the last chapter, and things have finally come to a halt. Thank you guys for sticking with me for this story and enduring the Sess torture! I love you all. Enjoy this last chapter! XD 

– 

**Water and Blood **

~ 

    When he finished clothing himself, he sat down on the ground and leaned his back against the well, waiting to get back to how he was before. His eyes closed as he leaned his head back, and the sigh of relief came quietly from his lips after giving a slight touch to his two swords. 

- 

**Chapter 12: _Missing You_**

    Kagome rolled her eyes at an obstinate Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, we have to go! Stop eating all of our ramen!" 

     Inuyasha slurped up the last bit of ramen and turned to Kagome. "Fine, fine," he muttered sordidly. "Let's go, then." 

     The two of them walked to the shrine after Inuyasha mentioned that Sesshoumaru's scent was there. Kagome walked in front of Inuyasha to the entrance of the shrine. "Sesshoumaru—" she paused. "Ano…" she said as she turned back to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, maybe we should let him…rest…" she suggested. 

     "What?" Inuyasha asked. He looked over Kagome's shoulder and was quite shocked when he saw Sesshoumaru sleeping against the well. Sesshoumaru—_sleeping_!—was something that he'd never seen in his life. "Hen…" he muttered. His eyebrows then furrowed. "He can rest in my time! Keeping him here isn't…" 

     "Safe?" Kagome finished. She smiled as Inuyasha turned his back to her with a 'Keh!' "Inuyasha, as much as you _care_ for your brother—" her voice was seeping with sarcasm "—bringing him to your era right now might be a little…overwhelming. Besides, what if he's never able to go back?" 

     "…I didn't think of that," Inuyasha admitted. "Well, he'll be able to get through." 

     "Whatever you say, Inuyasha," Kagome muttered. "Let's just let him stay there for a few hours. We'll go back later on today." 

     "Fine," Inuyasha muttered, turning around and walking back toward Kagome's house. "But you're making me more ramen!" 

     Kagome rolled her eyes with a smile. "Sure." 

-

     Hours later, Kagome and Inuyasha returned to the shrine. "He better be awake, the bastard, because I ain't waiting for him any longer!" Inuyasha said heatedly as the two of them neared the shrine. 

     "And if he isn't?" Kagome asked. 

     "I'll—" 

     "Let him rest some more?" Kagome asked. "Oh, that's so nice of you, Inuyasha!" Inuyasha threw her a glare, making her laugh weakly before turning to the entrance. She stopped short when she saw long, silver hair staring at her. Sesshoumaru's back was turned to them as he sat on the edge of the well. 

     "Hmph…" 

     "Sesshoumaru…" Kagome started, taking an unsure step toward the youkai. "If you're ready to go…we'll be leaving." The inu youkai didn't do as much as acknowledge her presence. Kagome cocked her eyebrow angrily. Ready to speak once more, she opened her mouth, but was cut off. 

     "What perilous times you live in, human…" Sesshoumaru said. 

     "Pardon?" Kagome asked. She didn't know what to make of his statement. Was he saying that he felt bad for her for the fact that her time was so disgusting and dangerous? No, it couldn't be that; Sesshoumaru felt bad for nothing, no one. "I don't understand…" she muttered. 

     "Hnh…" Sesshoumaru retorted. Unexpectedly to Kagome and Inuyasha, he turned to them, an almost dour look on his face. "Humans like you waste their breath on futile things…" 

     Kagome was taken aback by his words, and she really didn't know what to think of them. She cocked her eyebrow as Sesshoumaru descended into the well. She turned to Inuyasha. "What did he mean by that?" she whispered. 

     "A lot," Inuyasha muttered as he shrugged his shoulder. Pushing Kagome into the well, he followed her. 

-

     Shippou perked up, as well as Kirara. "Hey," he muttered. "I smell Kagome!" The feline at his knees mewed in accordance to his word. 

     Rin looked up at Shippou. "Nee, Shippou-chan, Kagome-sama is back?" she asked. 

     "I think so," he said excitedly, standing up and dropping the game in his hands. "Miroku!" he called. "Sango!" He ran toward the two, who were sitting near the stream, relaxing. He stopped as he saw Sango throw her hand on Miroku's face. Rin soon got up and dropped her game pieces before following Shippou. "Kagome is back!" Shippou screamed at the two. 

     It didn't take long for Sango to angrily stomp away from Miroku, uttering fowl curses toward him. "Kagome-chan?" she asked. 

     "Yeah!" Shippou said as she neared him. "I can smell Kagome, and so can Kirara!" 

     "Oh, I see," Sango said. "Houshi-sama!" She called over to Miroku, who was wiping the dirt from his clothing. "We're going to the well to greet Kagome at the village. Come on." 

     Miroku smiled as he walked toward Sango, rubbing at the sore mark on his face. Rin stood still as Shippou and Sango passed her. Grabbing up Kirara, she waited for Miroku to catch up to her before she stood in front of him. "Miroku-sama…" Rin started. "Has Sesshoumaru-sama returned?" she asked hopefully. 

     "I don't know, Rin-chan," he muttered before picking her up and holding her to his side. She smiled sadly at him. "Let us return to the village to greet Kagome, and we'll ask her then, alright?" 

     "Hai, Miroku-sama," she muttered softly. 

     As the two neared the village, Rin caught sight of Kagome and wriggled herself lose from the houshi's arms. "No need to be in a maddened rush," Miroku muttered as he set her down and she ran off. 

     "Kagome-sama!" Rin yelled as she neared the school girl. Sango and Shippou were already around Kagome, asking her how she faired. 

     Kagome turned from Sango and looked down at Rin. "Rin-chan," Kagome started as she bent down to her haunches to get even in height with the girl. "How are you?" she asked. 

     "Has Sesshoumaru-sama returned, Kagome-sama?" Rin asked anxiously, her eyebrows flowing upward. 

     Kagome soften her mood for a few seconds before a wry, fake smile came to her lips. Fixing Rin's hair and then placing both hands on the girl's shoulders, she spoke. "Sesshoumaru is by the well." Her mouth widened with a smile as the girl's eyes lit up. 

     "Hontou ni?" Rin asked as she leaned forward. "Sesshoumaru-sama has returned?" Her delight couldn't be contained as Kagome gave a nod, fixing the tangles in her hair once more. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Kagome-chan! Where is Inuyasha-sama that Rin may think him?" 

     "Keh," Inuyasha muttered walking past Rin and Kagome. He crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air haughtily, and then he mumbled something inaudible. His eyes widened as his balance was nearly thrown off, small arms clasping around his legs. "Brat, get off me!" he screamed, nearly kicking the girl away. 

     "Arigatou gozaimasu, Inuyasha-sama! Rin will never forget you!" She hugged at his legs tighter, eyes filled with the most joyous tears that she could muster. 

     Inuyasha gave a sigh before giving her a pat on her head. He glared at anyone who dared to speak of what he'd just done ever again. "Good. Now scram," he muttered before pointing behind him. 

     Rin got off of him and let out a sound that resembled a squeal of happiness before she ran off. 

     "Well then…" Miroku started, a bit rejected. "I feel so ignored…" 

     "Houshi-sama, don't look so dejected," Sango said with a smile and a giggle, patting his shoulder. 

     "But she didn't even say goodbye to me," he muttered. 

     "Nor did she say goodbye to Shippou and me, but you don't see us complaining…" Sango reasoned. Miroku turned away. 

     "Well then, at least we can get back to normal living," he stated. His hand casually found its way to Sango's backside. "I think I want to watch this strange reunion," he stated quickly before scampering off after Rin. 

  
     Rin paused as she neared the clearing, not yet seeing Sesshoumaru. She idly took a flower from the ground before running toward the well that she'd fallen in many days prior. Twiddling the flower, her eyes widened as she saw a tall, regal figure standing next to the well, and instantly the weight that she held over her heart for days was lifted. 

     "Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin screamed in delight, breaking into a run. The little girl quickly noted the whirring around of her lord. The smile on her face grew, albeit that her tears flowed freely down her rosy cheeks. "Sesshoumaru-sama!" 

     Sesshoumaru stood absolutely still as he looked down at the little girl running toward him with emotions of absolute jubilation and relief. The human whelp was relieved to see him? 

     Rin stopped in front her lord and stared up at him guilelessly. "Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin is happy to see you!" 

     Sesshoumaru continued to stare down at her, not making a single movement. A sense of relief swelled around him as well; he hadn't known what had happened to the girl after he'd gone through the well. He snuffed disgustingly as human scent overrode his senses. "Rin," he started, "you were at a human village." 

     Rin looked down guiltily before staring at her lord again. "Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama," she drawled. She started to have an air of sadness around her. "Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin was worried that you were hurt." Her eyebrows turned downward in heartache as she twiddled the flower in her hands. 

     The brunt of Rin's body flinging around Sesshoumaru's legs nearly caused him to become unstable. Instead, the force reinstalled disgusting flashes of images into his mind of just days before. His feral, defensive instincts instantly clouded his mind, and before he could control himself, his claws elongated and a hiss escaped from his lips. 

     Rin instantly let go of him after seeing an unfamiliar flash of red in his eyes, taking a step back and staring at Sesshoumaru incredulously—fearfully even. "Sesshoumaru-sama?" she asked shakily as she took another step back. A short gasp escaped her lips as his long fangs flashed toward her dangerously. 

  
     Miroku had been watching quietly from afar, and wasn't very surprised when Kagome, Sango, Shippou had joined him. Inuyasha was another subject, and he'd shocked them all. 

     "Youki…" Miroku muttered. He wrapped his left hand around his right wrist, ready to pull the beads off. "He lays a single claw on that girl and I'll personally let him experience the kazaana." 

     Their eyes widened as the claws of the youkai hurtled toward the little girl, Inuyasha's mouth shut but with a sound escaping from him. 'He's being defensive…' Inuyasha thought with the cock of his eyebrow. 

     The shriek of the little girl caused Miroku to stand straight, and he nearly loosened the beads from his hand before Kagome dragged him back down. "Miroku," she started, "don't…do anything. Just…wait…" 

  
     Rin had fallen on her rear and was fruitlessly trying to crawl away from her deadly looking lord. "Sesshoumaru-sama," she muttered, her voice shaking and wracking with fear. The claws came closer to her as Sesshoumaru pounced over her. "What did Rin do wrong?" she asked loudly with tears before shutting her eyes with a shriek, the hand with the flower shoved into the youkai's face as he nearly tore her to shreds. 

     Everything stopped. Time nearly stood still for the girl, her eyes shut. "Rin…" She heard, flinching at the sound of the voice. 

     Rin slowly tore her eyes open, surprised when the youkai was standing feet away from her. "Sesshoumaru-sama…?" Her eyes widened as he continued to walk away. "What did Rin do wrong, Sesshoumaru-sama, to make you so angry with me?" she questioned as she instantly got up and followed him. 

     The response took a while to come from his lips, but when she had finally caught up to his left side, he glanced downward slightly before opening his mouth. "Nothing," Sesshoumaru answered. "You do nothing wrong." 

     A smile tore her lips as she stared up at him. She grabbed softly at the sleeve of his haori and continued to walk with him. "Rin is glad…" she said. 

  
     Everyone stared with wide eyes—_everyone_. "I swear that was an act of sentiment on his part…" Sango muttered. 

     "Hn…" Kagome agreed. "I never thought I'd see the day…" she uttered. "But I have to admit, it's pretty cute…" 

     "Keh. Cute, she says," Inuyasha said as he stood straight and crossed his arms. "I say it's disturbing. He's like a pedophile or some—" 

     "Osuwari!" Kagome said quickly after smacking Inuyasha on the back of his head. "Inuyasha no baka! I doubt that Sesshoumaru would stoop to such disgusting levels! Osuwari, _osuwari, **osuwari**_! Yuck!" 

     Inuyasha twitched before his muscles went limp. 

     "Kagome-sama," Miroku started, "do you know why he would react in such a way?" 

     Kagome paused before looking at anything but the rest of the group. "Well?" Sango asked. 

     "Sesshoumaru…" Kagome started, "didn't exactly…have the…best of times in my era…" she muttered. 

     "What do you mean, Kagome?" Shippou asked. He leaned forward from Sango's shoulder. "What happened? He had band-ajes around his neck." 

     They noted how Inuyasha stood up and walked off. He hadn't an annoyed look on his face like they would have expected. His features were rather…sullied. 

     "Kagome…what happened?" Sango asked. 

     Kagome hesitated. "I…really don't think that I should talk about it…" she muttered. "It's more of a darker side of my era…" She turned around and followed Inuyasha. 

-

     Sesshoumaru had stopped by the stream that he would have brought Rin to days ago if she wasn't as thirsty as she was. He sat down on the ground, leaning against a tree before closing his eyes. His mind was still on the three words that that worthless half-brother of his had told him before he left toward the village. The words filled him with self-disgust and anger toward the hanyou for peering into him. That half-human had a lot of galls to speak those words to him, though. 

     The girl was splashing in the water, but Sesshoumaru heard when she stopped. His ears twitched as he heard her taking muddied steps onto the grass and toward him. His eyes opened to thin slits. 

     The sun was beginning to set. Rin walked in front of him, standing in front of the bright light radiating from the clouds. "Sesshoumaru-sama," she began. 

     "Hnh." He acknowledged her presence. 

     She pointed to his neck, the gauze still around it with little drips of blood seeping through. "What happened to Sesshoumaru-sama?" she asked worriedly. 

     Though young, Rin expertly noticed the dimness of his eyes at her question. Disgustingly enough, Sesshoumaru averted his gaze from the girl. "You as too many questions, Rin," Sesshoumaru answered. 

     Rin grew quiet as she noticed the strained movement of his neck. She hadn't noticed that before. Her eyes suddenly glimmered with tears and sadness. "Something bad happened, Sesshoumaru-sama," she stated perceptively. 

     "Yes," Sesshoumaru stated shortly. 

     "Will Sesshoumaru-sama tell Rin?" she asked. 

     Sesshoumaru turned to her, his eyes hardening before her, his eyebrows furrowed. "No," he answered. Her questions pestered him. He only wanted rest from what experiences he had from that evil era. A sudden feeling began to well in his stomache as his mind began to overflow with images "Rin, stay," he muttered shakily before he stood up and walked off. As soon as he was far enough from her sight and was further downstream, he leaned against a tree, breathing raucously. 

     Rin stared at his figure with her eyebrows drawn up in question. He had looked so pallor before he left, she was quick to notice that. But he had also clenched his teeth shut as much as possible when he spoke. She stood up in question as a soft sound came to her ears. It sounded almost like a hurt or sick animal. 

     Not thinking of Sesshoumaru's words, she took a few steps in the direction where she heard the noises from. Pushing through low branches and bushes, she quickened her pace until she came to a boulder, a few trees surrounding it and the stream right by it. 

     Rin's eyes widened in shock and a gasp escaped from her small lips as she saw Sesshoumaru walk toward the stream and bend on his haunches while rinsing his hand and mouth. 

     Sesshoumaru turned around instantly at the presence of the small girl and stared at her almost angrily. She hadn't done what she had been told. "Rin," he started, his voice seeping with disappointment. 

     "Sesshoumaru-sama…" Rin muttered. "Sesshoumaru-sama is sick?" she asked, taking steps forward. 

     "Rin, we stay here tonight," the youkai said, averting attention away from her question. "Jaken is near. We will retrieve him tomorrow and continue our travel." 

     "Hai…" she drawled. She watched closely as he walked toward the boulder and sat on the ground, his back leaning against the rock. 

     There wouldn't be a fire tonight if he didn't tell her to get twigs. Rin took slow, unsure steps toward Sesshoumaru. With what little sunlight that was left, she found her way toward him and stood next to him. She leaned her back against the boulder as well, but peered down at him as he stared off upwards, seemingly deep in thought. The gauze around his neck alerted her, and she inadvertently reached out toward it. 

     His fingers caught her tiny wrist centimeters away from his neck. Rin stared at him with her breath held before widening her fingers toward the gauze almost obstinately, a whimper escaping her lips as his fingers tightened. He stared at the small girl almost—_almost_!—incredulously before letting her wrist go. She was brave. 

     Her tiny, cold fingers pulled on the gauze softly before she looked at the (healing) wounds on his neck, pushing away his silky silver hair. She poked at a wound, surprised when the youkai gave the slightest of winces. 

     "Sesshoumaru-sama was hurt," she said shakily, tears forming in her eyes. "Rin missed Sesshoumaru-sama. But Sesshoumaru-sama was being hurt." Her voice now had turned into a drawling mass of gabbling sniffles. 

     The youkai said nothing to acknowledge her words. His eyes widened and he winced as the girl's arms wrapped around his neck, her small cries like horns in his ears. Her scent was full of sadness and despair. She pulled away from him seconds later. "Rin will make sure that Sesshoumaru-sama is safe all the time." 

     "Rest, Rin," Sesshoumaru said in return of her words. 

     The small girl feigned a smile on her lips before walking to his other side and resting against his side, pulling his arm over her tiny body to keep her warm. "Rin will never leave Sesshoumaru-sama," she uttered, clinching closer to him. "Oyasumi nasai." 

**_Owari_**

– 

**A/N**: (1/29) Ramen-chan is sick with an evil cold and she can only breathe through her mouth, but she wants to chew on something =_@. Oyasumi nasai means goodnight. I think that ended quite…well *sneeze*. *cough hack cough* I finished writing this story at 5.45 in the morning. Why? Because I woke up too early by mistake, thinking that I was late, when I was too early. ._. But anyway, just so that you guys know, some of the subjugation formula hadn't worn out of Sesshoumaru's system yet, and that's why he puked in this chapter…His body was trying to purge the chemicals and what not from him. 

_ Lord Fluffy: I feel bad =_=. The minute after I posted the 11th chapter, your 10th chapter review came in my email @_@. But yes, the scientists have been taken care of :D. _

Rejected Angel: I'm sorry, I've just about given up on your name. It's so hard to write, and I'm so sick right now that I haven't the patience to change it. Gomen, dun' be mad at me =_=. Anyway, I hope you liked Rin's reaction :D. 

Fluffylovero7: Thank you :D. Yah, Sess is a free man—…youkai :D 

Ieva: Really :D? I wouldn't think. I've read good stories before, but this definitely isn't it =_= *self-critical and can't take compliments* Hehe ~_~. Sporks are fun :D. I'll attack them with you! *poke poke poke* 

Inuyasha'sDreamGRL: Yay! I'm glad that you do :D. Of course I'll read your stories. Wait until the weekend. I hardly have enough time for myself, but I'll try to get to your story by the weekend. If I don't, email me and smack me over the head a thousand times to remind me. Seriously >:O. 

Koki: @_O. I'm sorry…I really didn't understand what you wrote. Did you mean that you'd read my stories? :D!! THANKYOU! XD 

Darkmoon0829: Thank you :D. And you're welcome :D. 

Evil-Miyu: *dance dance* Sess is saved. Wee! Yuppers, next chapter right here :D. 

RedHerring: Thank you XD. Yah, Rin was in for a surprise ):D…Er…that's a good question. Both of them are good questions. Hehe @_@ 

Lord Fluffy: Hello again :D. how can I do what to Sesshoumaru?? How can he get revenge when he can hardly stand?? They'll hurt my poor Sesshy all over again @_@. Yay! Thanks for reading my stories:D. 

Kivrin: Yup, this is the last chapter. The scientists can only suffer with wounds. But Inuyasha knows well that human lives are actually accounted for in Kagome's era. XD. 

Cyhiraeth: Yah, I got obsessed with fan fiction when I heard about it from The Anime Society (old school club) XD. Yes, I'm a junior. This is the devil. Yup. The devil and his EVIL SCHOOLISH DEEDS!! I HAVE THE DEVIL'S MOTHER AS MY ENGLISH TEACHER AS WELL! I GOT A C ON HER FINAL!! 

Kay's Craft: Me? Cute? *blush* Why do people ALWAYS call me that?! *punches face until she's ghastly* >:D. I didn't realize I made Sess human/normal o_O. But I guess if you noticed…:D….Well, Kagome wouldn't let Inuyasha kill them because she knows that murder is bad….in her time. 

anhimals: Yeppies, I've updated again! A bomb @** ending? Heh…I was going more for a cute ending….but I'm sick. I might change it when I feel up to it…FINALS ARE OVER!! XD 

Miharu210: Yay! Me too! Next chappie is here :D. Hope you enjoyed. 

Crow T R0bot: They're not going to die at all… No, he won't go out for revenge. In a way, some of the subjugation formula is still in him, but he doesn't realize that…EW!! KAG/SESS SHOULD BURN!! *belch* Yah, I was hoping that people wouldn't think that I was a Kag/Sess fan. Rin/Sess all the way, baby *pumps fist*! Definite Inu/Kag, but uh…Mir/San and Sess/Rin? Rin's a 6 year old girl! That's disgusting!! Bleh! Kaede sounds stupid, and her voice annoys me. Yah, Sesshoumaru's name is like pronounced Seh-Show-oo-mah-dhu in Japanese, while it's pronounced "Suh-show-muh-roo" in English @_O. I hate it. You'd notice if you heard the difference. Kagome is "Kah-go-meh" in Japanese, not "Kuh-go-may" in English. Many others, but my brain is filling up with sickness x_x Kawaii means cute and Ja ne means goodbye. 

Mintvee: Wee :D. Yah, there were five people, I do realize =_=. I just didn't expect the plot to become like this. Actually, I was originally planning on Kagome, Inuyasha, and Kagome's mother to save Sess, but oh well. Yah, I have two older sisters =_=. Bai! 

demonhuntress20-04: Ooooh, thank you a thousand times XDXD. 

yamitamashii: Thanks :D. I'm glad I kept everyone in character. Well, there are times in the episodes when Kagome will act rather cold toward someone, but that's in later episodes, when her attitude becomes stronger. I don't like her either, don't worry (if you're talking about Asako). 

KawaiiLil-InuGurl: o_O…O_o…o_O;;;. Er… :D……I've updated. By the way, I saw your Sesshoumaru picture. I'm keeping it on my computer forever and ever and ever and ever. 

Houndingwolf: Would you LIKE to see Sess go through more pain?? O_o. The story ends here =_= 

bearmoon: Yah…er…I really didn't put Higurashi's feelings into this o_O. She's not a very important character…Yah, I'm glad Sess is safe as well. Oh, Rin made him feel a squishy XD *kidding*. Er, you can trust Asako and Takana :D. Er…sorry if the end was disappointing… =_=;; 

I'm so sorry if the end of this story was disappointing =_=;;. I just felt that Rin and Sesshoumaru needed a cute moment together, and why not like this? Ya know? I was mainly trying to get away from the dark theme of the story and get to a lighter mood, if you guys actually noticed that…:D. Anyway, I've posted a new story on Tuesday and I already have 11 reviews for it! :D. It's a Rin/Sess pairing, my second one. So, read that >:D. It's called Clouds that Fall. And read Silent Echoes, my other Rin/Sess story for a contest >:D. Read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read. >:D. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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